


moving violations

by Nixariel



Series: slow boat to somewhere [1]
Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Canon compliant until end of season 2, Multi, Older Man/Younger Woman, Slow Burn, You have been warned!, angst angst baby, look if i am on this hell-boat it might as well be a fun ride, or at least we'll get there, putting that out there right now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26382106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nixariel/pseuds/Nixariel
Summary: Of all the lives in all the world, he walks into hers.Takes place over season 2, expanding on canon.
Relationships: Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep/Shadowsan, Player & Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Series: slow boat to somewhere [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1917331
Comments: 64
Kudos: 64





	1. Rio de Janeiro

It starts like this: Shadow- _san_ is carrying her out of the mine underneath Rio and his shoulders are firm under her belly, breasts caught against his back. Carmen doesn't know why she should notice, but a wave of righteous indignation knocks it out of her mind anyways when HE starts blaming HER for abandoning his own cover. The man had nearly _two weeks_ to say… anything, really. _Dibs on Rio_ , for example, or _When I was in Argentina twenty years ago_ –

Eluding her old classmates is one way to restore Carmen's mood. Shadow- _san_ follows her lead so beautifully, it's hard to remember he can be such a jerk.

-/-

She was willing to take his disapproval of her team. Or, more accurately, their age. What she won't take is continuing to work at cross-purposes in thwarting V.I.L.E. So the ex-instructor had a plan, didn't tell her, and it fell apart. Carmen doesn't see how she can be blamed for that. But if he had waited even _five seconds_ after she found the dragon-float, they could have worked out together how to incapacitate the operatives onboard.

This time, launching El Topo over the parapet in the middle of Shadow- _san_ 's stealthy approach is entirely deliberate _._

The heist still goes well enough that she cracks a joke at him— _you, me, and nighttime boat rides_ —but that dismissive look in his eyes is starting to annoy. Her crew is _good_ , damn him, and showing off their skills is a pure pleasure. When Shadow- _san_ grins, finally impressed as Ivy and Zack's duck lowers over the defeated beast, it is almost as much a victory as keeping the alexandrite out of V.I.L.E.'s hands.

-/-

The adrenaline high of a successful caper keeps her going until the sun comes up. After that, it's the _cafezinho_ the thief sips as she and Shadow- _san_ watch Rio's early morning crowds. Ivy and Zack are too busy trying to get their piñita coladas a little less piñita and a little more piña. Carmen would wish the twins luck if she hadn't already paid the bartender to ignore them when she picked up her coffee. Instead, she turns her attention to the person she once considered her most steadfast opponent.

He still wears the laced shirt he'd donned to blend in with the other Carnival-goers. The thinner fabric hangs from his frame, exposing the long line of his throat. Being out of his normal _wafuku_ makes Shadow- _san_ look strangely vulnerable—or perhaps it is the way he speaks to her now. No more the commanding V.I.L.E. mastermind or experienced solo operative; the man sitting across from her is uncertain, picking his way through the conversation with care.

He calls her a child. That grates, more than she might expect. But then Shadow- _san_ bows his head—to her!—and humbly accepts his former student's authority. Carmen feels the balance between them shift into new equilibrium even as the respect in those dark eyes warms the thief beyond what her coffee could explain.

Yet the past, _their_ past, still pulls her like a magnet. How few answers her companion then holds is unsatisfying at best, no matter how Carmen tries to console herself that anything is more than she had yesterday. At least this marks the end of secrets between them. She and Shadow- _san_ are in this together—and together, they _will_ bring V.I.L.E. down.

-/-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I have seen the end of season 2. ;)
> 
>  _cafezinho_ : a kind of sweetened black coffee prepared by heating water and sugar in a pan, adding ground coffee, then filtering it all through a cloth strainer; NOT a _cafecito_ , I misheard that one.  
>  _piñita colada_ : the non-alcoholic version of a piña colada.  
>  _wafuku_ : traditional Japanese clothing.
> 
> Blame Shadow-san's Carnival outfit, that's what inspired most of this. I also still intend to finish Teeth. A few headcanons for the show are on my [tumblr](https://nixariel.tumblr.com/post/628197137595973632/some-carmen-sandiego-head-canons-in-no-particular) of the same name, if anyone's interested. They are canon to this fic.
> 
> To the anon who wrote 'destiny drifting': your fic hurt me but I liked it. Darn you.  
> To the anon (possibly the same) who wrote 'beneath wings of light': your fic did not hurt me and I liked it. Thank you.  
> Although I started this fic before I read either, both have had an influence.


	2. Matsumoto

Her one-time teacher tells them he has a personal matter to attend to in Japan, which sounds like as good a destination as any to Carmen. Player is working on pulling their next target from the new hard drive and the rest of them could use a break after Rio. However, Shadow- _san_ does seem a little startled to find her in the seat next to his when he boards the plane, Ivy and Zack fighting over the window in the row behind. Carmen just smiles pleasantly.

If he has an objection, the man is wise enough not to mention it. After he neatly puts an end to the twins' oh-so-subtle attempts to get something harder than ginger ale from the drink cart, Carmen also figures Shadow- _san_ can't be too upset about them following. Making her deal with drunk teenagers, and them with hangovers, was exactly his style of payback.

-/-

The thief is disappointed but not surprised when she wakes on the train to find Shadow- _san_ gone. That changes at the sting of realizing he's here to steal the _wakizashi_ —and how sharp her relief is at being mistaken.

She's been wrong about a lot of people in her life. She doesn't want him to keep being one of them.

As for putting right past mistakes, _that_ is something Carmen can get behind. It pleases her to think of lifting some of the sadness she saw in his eyes at Zack's brash inquiry. Shadow- _san_ may consider himself a ninja, and ninjas as villains, but she and Player had picked up more about Japan's history than just what he told them in that karaoke rental room. _Bushido_ did not keep samurai from being vicious and cruel to the commoners over whom they stood. A ninja could save hundreds of lives with a single shadowy act. If she learned anything from finally putting V.I.L.E. Island behind her, it was that real life defied simple organization into black and white, us and them. Real life held room for a little kindness.

( _A voice on a stolen phone, always happy to hear from her. A patient dig manager in Morocco. Her world, utterly changed in its axis._ )

If Shadow- _san_ meant what he said in Rio—calling her the master and him the student—then this is the lesson Carmen wants him to learn: in her crew, people look after each other. Sometimes it means taking a pair of redheads out for karaoke. Sometimes it means stealing a sacred shortsword for a man too emotionally compromised to bear doing so himself.

Life, defying simplicity.

-/-

There are a number of words Carmen has for Paper Star, none of them kind, but she is quite happy to spend her ire on Shadow- _san_ for now. The man is _still_ keeping secrets! Pulling a complete truth from him is like getting blood from an _nagagi_ -wearing _stone_.

So Shadow _-san—Suhara_ —has a brother. So what. He does NOT get to pull that 'for your own good' card on her like Carmen is still a child soaking up every legend and fairy tale he ever told. Either he starts talking or she walks.

…Thank goodness he starts talking.

-/-

"Big and little, together again."

Shadow- _san_ smiles, and Carmen is glad she argued him into doing things her way. With this success under their belt, maybe one day he'll just accept she's right when Carmen points out that the good thing—the _honourable_ thing—does not also have to be the _dumb_ thing. Until then, she's got a ninja to haul away before the scattered thugs wake up or Lady Dokuso returns with reinforcements.

"Can you walk?" she asks.

"I think—no," Shadow- _san_ replies, and grimaces. " _Fugu_ toxin—temporary—do not know—how long–"

"Shh," Carmen urges. She can see how much it's costing him to speak right now. "I've— _We've_ got you. Ivy?" she calls, heading back to the double-hinged kitchen doors to poke her head through. "Ivy?"

"Right here, Carm," says her mechanic-turned-gadgeteer, jogging down the back corridor. She'd changed out of the waitress's _yukata_ and into her normal clothes. "Did we get it? Did we win?"

"Yes, but Shadow- _san_ 's down, Dokuso dosed him with something. Sounds like it'll wear off but no idea how long that will take. Is Zack at the car yet?"

"In position and already rolling," the redhead confirms.

"Great. Then let's get Shadow- _san_ to the door; I don't want to wait around any longer than we have to."

"Same back atcha. Thinking 'bout all the things that could actually be poison here gives me the creeps." Ivy shivers dramatically for emphasis as they bend down to lift Shadow- _san_ under his shoulders.

"One, two–"

"–Three!" they chorus. Once all are upright again, Carmen shifts her arm around his waist to take more of his weight. "Oof," she grumbles. "Do you really have to be so tall, Shadow- _san_? Ivy, if you grab the swords, I'll get him to the door."

"Uh," coughs Ivy, "You sure about that, Red? Maybe I should get him to the door and _you_ grab the swords."

Carmen blinks. "Oh. Right." Sometimes she forgot how strong the teenager was, despite her lesser height. "New plan."

As Ivy half-carries, half-drags Shadow- _san_ , Carmen carefully gathers up the _daisho_. Tying them together, she slings the _wakizashi_ 's carrying strap across her chest again. Then the thief hurries to help Ivy the last few feet to the door. Zack is waiting outside by the time they get there and takes them smoothly out of Kabukicho—that is, until Player looks up tetrodotoxins. What he finds scares the spit out of all of them for a full five minutes before Shadow- _san_ can make it clear he is actually getting better.

-/-

 _Suhara_. It's a nice-sounding name. Perhaps he'll start using it again if Hideo accepts his apology.

People in her crew look after each other. She _wants_ this for him.

When he shows up at the train station instead, Carmen is a little ashamed at her own relief. Shadow- _san_ has a brother and a home he misses, yet is unwelcome. That isn't a burden she would wish on anybody. Still, her team desperately needs someone like him. A thief, a hacker, and two teens learning high-wire crime on the fly against all the might of V.I.L.E? Carmen's not about to let it stop her but she knows she's fighting above her weight class. Eventually they were all going to run into trouble she couldn't think, brazen, or luck their way out of.

She needs him.

-/-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _wakizashi_ : Japanese short sword, paired to the longer _katana_ in a _daisho_  
>  _bushido_ : "the way of warriors", a moral code samurai were expected to follow—in theory. In practice, interpretations varied. The term ' _bushido_ ' also seems to be far more recent than the ideals it signifies.  
>  _nagagi_ : at least one of the names for the upper garment Shadow- _san_ wears. It is not a _haori_. That is a short jacket which goes over top as a second layer.  
>  _fugu_ : pufferfish. Carries tetrodotoxin, a potentially fatal paralytic with no known antidote. Basically the only treatment is to try to keep people breathing until it wears off on its own.  
>  _yukata_ : similar to but lighter than a kimono. Often used as casual summer wear, especially to festivals. Ivy actually looks to be wearing two layers in the club but the _obi_ (belt) is on top, so it doesn't look like she is wearing a _haori_ either. Having the _obi_ tied in front is consistent with _yukata_ , so I approximated.  
>  _Kabukicho_ : red-light district of Tokyo, home to restaurants, night clubs, host/hostess clubs, and various other forms of adult entertainment. A very likely place for Dokuso to have her club.
> 
>  _'In the event that I fail to return...'_ Really? _Really?_ Sometimes I wonder just what in Shadow- _san_ 's pretty little head made him think Carmen would ever go along with that idea. Hands down my favourite part of the episode is that moment right afterwards where she looks at him and you can just _see_ her thinking, _oh, hell no._


	3. Milan

Dash is still that annoying combination of arrogance and danger. He _is_ good—just not as good, or as pretty, as he thinks he is. Unfortunately, Carmen has to say the same about herself last night because Haber and the Cleaners still managed to escape with their prize. Yet a single crate wasn't exactly V.I.L.E's style and certainly didn't require three operatives. What was so special about this fabric? What could they even do with that limited a supply? It bothers the thief as she paces in front of Athen's acropolis, thinking out loud and only half-listening to the others.

Hearing Shadow- _san_ ask about a headquarters of all things pulls Carmen from her maze of maybes and what-ifs—as does the uncomfortable surprise of learning he _expects_ them not to trust him.

Which… would actually be pretty reasonable.

Carmen feels the weight of the phone in her back pocket like Player's voice in her ear, cautioning her against accepting without question. Shadow- _san_ helped direct V.I.L.E. for twenty years and never breathed so much as a word of his true feelings. He'd lied to her, by omission if nothing else, and played the part of her greatest critic so effectively that Carmen had been ready to take her chances with the police over him even after he'd just saved her from Brunt. Clearly the man could keep a secret.

And yet, "We would trust you, Shadow- _san_ ,"—because Carmen did anyway, she _does_ , without quite being able to say why—"if we actually had one."

His astonishment is much easier to bear than that stoic acceptance and turned back. Zack and Ivy's banter helps as well, distracting him out of the almost remorseful look in his eyes when she mentions vowing to see the world.

Truth be told, it's the 'home' part of home base putting the thief on edge. Black Sheep spent the first eighteen years of her life thinking V.I.L.E. was where she belonged. That girl wanted to leave, yes—but never dreamed of not returning. Even stowing away to Casablanca had been more about proving herself than leaving forever. But after the botched mission opened her eyes, Carmen saw the island as it really was: a prison, and a lie.

If only she knew more about her past. Maybe then she'd be able to tell a true home from the false.

Still deep in brainstorming mode, Carmen abruptly realizes she's said at least part of that out loud. Hastily she smiles and adds, in a lighter tone, "I mean, home base should feel like home, shouldn't it?"

Thank goodness for Player. Her phone goes off, his call both deflecting the others and delivering new leads. That Shadow- _san_ supplies the final connection for unravelling V.I.L.E.'s scheme—and exactly what that connection is—proves a far more welcome surprise to Carmen. She can't help arching an eyebrow.

_Fashion Fest, huh?_

He freezes ever so slightly under the sudden four-part stare, explanation just a hair too quick, and Carmen is _delighted_. Their stone-faced ninja may not be totally impervious after all. But there's still a caper to plan, so she saves that split-second fluster for later prodding.

-/-

She is glad Shadow- _san_ sits beside her on their chartered plane—the closest to an HQ Carmen thinks she'll ever want. For one thing, Player was due to call with an update on V.I.L.E. chatter that Shadow _-san_ might be able to put into context. For another, she probably shouldn't ignore the awkward possibility raised by just how the ninja knew about Fashion Fest. Carmen leans back while Zack is napping and Ivy busy with her technical manual, discretely turning the computer screen aside.

"So… Countess Cleo, huh?"

His eyes go wide. " _No_. Absolutely not."

"Aren't you going to wait for an actual question?" she teases, good intentions about maturity and dignity fading in the face of the ninja's clear abhorrence—and the urge to poke him, just a little. Just to see what he'd do.

"I know what you were asking," says Shadow- _san_ firmly, "and the answer is no. That woman would have to look away from her mirror before she could possibly notice anyone else. Nor would I have been interested if she did."

Carmen gives a conciliatory little shrug. She believes him. And, deep enough that the thief hoped he couldn't see, some part of her is very, very glad. Shadow- _san_ relinquished a great deal of power and influence upon joining her crew. He gave no sign of regretting it, but she still worried when Zack got too loud or Ivy too bossy. Even over herself, sometimes, when Carmen's puckish streak nudged a little too hard. Knowing Shadow- _san_ did not leave behind anyone he cared about made her feel… relieved, she supposed. That the ninja did not sacrifice as much as he could have.

He glances at her sidelong. "And if she did," Shadow- _san_ continues, far more quietly. Carmen's attention narrows in. "I suspect I would not have been the first person she considered. Dr. Bellum frequently accompanied the countess to Fashion Fest, despite her disinterest in anything other than her experiments."

Carmen's jaw nearly drops. Faculty gossip, from _Shadow-_ san? It felt like breaking in to steal a giant diamond and finding matryoshka dolls instead. The thief bites back a grin but knows her eyes are sparkling. "Oh," she says carefully. "Good to know."

He glances at her again and his mouth twitches upward on one side, like it had over soon-to-be-discarded _cafezinhos_ in Rio. A tiny smile, one that said, _I see what you are playing… and I might just play along._

Oh, this man was a _wealth_ of surprises.

Then Player signs on and Carmen has to shift focus as Shadow- _san_ politely gives them space. Yet the shared look still fizzes gleefully in her chest.

-/-

She's no Countess Cleo but Player called it: Carmen does like to look good. There's a little red dress somewhere singing her name and the thief intends to find it. She makes a mental note to take the others shopping afterwards—in addition to Zack's pizza and gelato. When in Milan, as the saying went.

The perfect outfit isn't hard to find. It's not exactly little, nor can she wear a bra, but the thigh slit makes it very workable. And of course, it's just her colour. With the right set of earrings and a small change in hairstyle, Carmen fits in nicely amongst the other models. She does notice that unfortunately few of them are also dressed in red. Perhaps she'll have to be a trendsetter as well as Milan's friendly neighbourhood superthief tonight.

Popping in an earpiece for Player, Carmen sets out to catch a fashion mistake.

-/-

Jules' presence is a pleasant surprise, although Carmen isn't sure she likes finding the petite woman in uniform for the mysterious A.C.M.E. Yet even _Agent_ Argent is still ready to listen first and fight later, and falls into La Femme Rouge's plans quite neatly. Now Carmen doesn't have to worry about returning the gowns; technically, she'll never even steal them. One could not call remaining in police custody a theft after all.

V.I.L.E.'s would-be henchmodels are a tougher issue. Literally. Carmen had not expected them to be much for fighting, particularly since the scientist controlling their slender figures was not known for her martial abilities and models in general weren't known for their upper body strength. However, watching the South Asian woman utterly demolish a mannequin encourages Carmen to re-think that view. Taking her opponents from four to two costs the thief a few bruises she'll feel the next morning but Carmen is still game to finish this. That doesn't stop her heart from lifting when she sees Shadow- _san_ throw open the fire door in a well-timed entrance.

Forget nighttime boat rides, apparently basements were their thing now.

He sets her up for the double-snipe like they'd planned it in advance. When she sags against the sewing bench afterwards, letting out a little sigh, the ninja walks over to join her. "Thanks," says Carmen, and grins. "My hat's off to you."

Shadow- _san_ doesn't even wince. Honestly, him not appreciating her sense of humour was the true crime of this caper.

The little show director who walks in on them is easy enough to redirect as the downed models stir. Carmen and Shadow- _san_ slip away in the confusion, his palm not quite touching her back as he escorts her through less-travelled hallways out of the building. As soon as they are a safe few blocks away from the runway theatre, he brings them into a nondescript alley to wait for the twins until they finish dropping off Jules and the gowns.

"Does it hurt when you breathe in?" he asks as soon as they are off the street. His hand still hovers at her side.

Carmen screws up her face instead of shrugging. She thinks she might want to avoid that particular motion for the next few days. "Not really. Not yet? Tomorrow's going to be fun."

He grunts. Looking at her for permission first, the ninja carefully presses on her ribs, one side at a time, but all he elicits are a few pained grimaces. His fingers are warm through the fabric of her dress, the evening grown cool while they were inside.

"See?" answers Carmen, still feeling a touch breathless from the fight. "Nothing broken."

Shadow- _san_ grunts again, releasing her. "If you wish, we can work on managing multiple opponents." They've sparred a few times since leaving Japan. Nothing formal, nothing regular, but the thief can definitely see benefit in drawing on Shadow- _san_ 's experience for more than just V.I.L.E. intel.

" _And_ Zack and Ivy," she demands, because neither has Carmen ever really known when to quit.

He growls quietly, but lets her push. "If _they_ will take it seriously," he counters. "I do not teach nursery school. I will see you at seven, and them at eight. A.M., Carmen."

She beams. Victory was sweet, even if it meant giving up sleeping in. And if Shadow- _san_ really objected to teaching the twins, he would have made _them_ get up before seven.

Then he shoots her that sidelong look, and his lip twitches. "You do realize we will need a location in which to train. A headquarters, perhaps?"

Her grin turns to a scowl. _Sneaky ninja._

-/-

Carmen does take the crew shopping, and Zack gets his pizza and gelato. Growing another inch-plus since being fitted for a suit means his clothes form the bulk of their purchases. Ivy focuses more on flirting with the shop girls, who giggle at her accent, until Carmen convinces her to look at something that wasn't meant to stand up to five different kinds of grease. The mechanic does find a bomber jacket in rusty brown leather, and a fitted tunic in blue that would look stunning against her hair and eyes.

Carmen might have mentioned that Ivy could use something to wear if she succeeded in getting a phone number from one of the pretty clerks.

For herself, there's nothing the thief needs. She's already returned the gown she borrowed, preferring to travel light. So when Zack starts giving Ivy puppy-eyes to help him with his bags, Carmen laughs and reaches with empty hands to help.

Shadow- _san_ gets there first. He snags the handles just before she can touch them, and the thief shoots him a look. He's quite deliberately avoided getting involved until now—because Zack first turned the puppy-eyes on _him_ —so his sudden helpfulness makes her raise an eyebrow.

He blinks, looks at her side, then back to her face. He raises his own eyebrow.

Carmen rolls her eyes. _Fine_. Her ribs are just _fine_ , but if Shadow- _san_ wants to play nursemaid, she's happy to let Zack's exuberance wear the man down until he thinks better of it. The teen is already bouncing around him like a terrier, chattering a mile a minute.

She and Ivy grin at each other. "Ten bucks says he gets away with hanging off Shadow- _san_ for at least fifteen seconds by the end of the month," Ivy mutters under her breath.

"No bet," Carmen shoots back. She's known Shadow- _san_ all her life—but she has even more faith in Zack's powers of likeability.

-/-

Carmen does take pity enough to make the twins carry their new things back to the hotel room while she takes Shadow- _san_ for his part of the trip. She thinks he'd rather do this without an audience, and the way his shoulders loosen as Zack and Ivy walk away bickering amicably tells her she was right.

"A little too much together-time, Shadow- _san_?" she jokes. Inside, she wonders if it really was too much—if he'd rather she just give him the credit card and leave him alone for a few hours.

His mouth twists wryly. "They are not the most outrageous pair I have ever had to deal with," he allows, "but perhaps the loudest."

Carmen winces. "Sorry. You know, I– I don't have to come along," she offers. "If you wanted some time to yourself. I'm sure you've shopped for clothes before." The thief laughs, embarrassment curling in her stomach.

Shadow- _san_ considers her with a faint tilt of his head. He says, gently, "You are very pleasant company, Carmen. I do not mind your presence. And"—and there's that same brief hesitation, hanging in the air like 'Fashion Fest' before he admits—"I have not, actually, gone shopping in quite some time. V.I.L.E. had a tailor."

He looks at his clothes, then at her before adding, "My sense of style is… less than current."

Carmen grins, hooking her arm around his. "That's okay, Shadow- _san_." She eyes the nearby window displays, Shadow- _san_ falling into step beside her as they stroll down the Galleria for a promising store. "We'll find something that won't make people stop and take pictures—and that you like. Now about that _most_ outrageous pair you mentioned…"

-/-

" _Molto bello_ ," Carmen compliments as the ninja comes out in what looks to be the last of his new outfits for the day. For a man who favoured the flowing layers of traditional Japanese clothing, he took quite well to modern fashion's closer-cut sensibilities.

Modern fashion took well to him too. Shadow- _san_ had a swimmer's build—or, what was probably more accurate to call a swordsman's build—and the tighter clothes emphasized that. _He really does have nice shoulders_ , muses Carmen. But Suhara grew up on a very thin budget, which was how he would have learned to shop, so the thief makes a point of letting Shadow- _san_ know that technically V.I.L.E. was still paying for his clothing. The face he makes at the price tag is one she wishes she could snap for Player.

Although Carmen _might_ have been able to video-capture a few seconds of Shadow- _san_ testing out shirts earlier. She might have sent that to Player, who might have sent it back synced to new audio.

_Work, work, fashion baby. Work it, move that bitch crazy._

Unfortunately, Shadow- _san_ wouldn't keep clothes if she giggled while he was wearing them, something about a prank pulled ages ago, so Carmen had to get a hold of herself or the shopping trip would have been over far too soon. Besides, she had been ten—ish—and Cleo never seriously liked that dress anyway. Carmen had much better ideas for mischief now.

Might have been part of why the woman called her 'feral' though.

"You won't invite stares on the street dressed this way," says Carmen, and adds to herself, _at least, not for the same reasons_.

Yep. Definitely nice shoulders.

Nice… everything, actually.

Then Shadow- _san_ comes back to that idea of a home base and Player, of all people, jumps right on board. Carmen hadn't thought he even liked Shadow- _san_ —partly why she sent that video, hoping it would help warm her best friend to having a former V.I.L.E. mastermind on the team. Yet the hacker is genuinely excited about this warehouse. Carmen does appreciate the symbolism, even if she makes him spell it out, but she's just not sold on putting down roots despite the poetic irony.

Movement from Shadow- _san_ draws her eye. He looks a touch wary, and the thief sits up expecting some kind of trouble. What he ends up asking, and how, makes her grin. He's just so _serious_. And when she arches an eyebrow at him in challenge, he doubles down.

Carmen laughs delightedly. "Shadow- _san,_ of course we can get them." She picks up a pair herself to match.

-/-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Shadow- _san_ had pigtails, Carmen would be pulling them. Also, yes, the jacket Ivy picks up is from _Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?_ because this is the rare show—in the same medium no less—where I like two versions equally well. The glassed-in open air mall shown in the episode is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and a well-known landmark in Milan. My apologies to Lady Gaga; I couldn't resist. If anyone actually does it, though, you HAVE to send me the link.
> 
>  _molto bello_ : 'very nice'; alternatively, 'very handsome'. Sometimes this show gives me my ship on a silver platter.
> 
> The next two episodes were essentially a two-parter, so they will be combined into one chapter. Otherwise, _ciao_ for now.


	4. Dubai

The thief stares up at the empty building.

 _Carmen Brand Outerwear_.

It's a name that holds history for Carmen, if only because she otherwise has so little. That doesn't mean she needs to give it more. She _likes_ being rootless, likes knowing that nothing can keep her feet in one place too long. And yet—the two people she trusts most, Player and Shadow- _san_ , both think it's a good idea. The twins absolutely love it. Can she really justify saying no to all of them for the sake of the sick feeling in her gut when she thinks about V.I.L.E. Island?

Player's ringtone is her escape, right on cue and bringing news of a potential V.I.L.E. target.

From the corner of her eye Carmen is pleased to note that Shadow- _san_ has downgraded from growling to merely glaring when Zack casually leans on his shoulder. Unfortunately for him, hard looks run off the nineteen-year-old like rain off a duck. His sunny nature makes him unsinkable as one too, always floating back up no matter how fiercely the ninja scowls. Carmen doesn't hold any grudges about her most recent partner-in-anticrime's behaviour before she left the island, but watching reserved, competent Shadow- _san_ try and fail to fend off a friendly teenager is more than a little entertaining.

"I truly cannot fathom what possessed you to staff your crew with these unruly pranksters," he grumbles, finally free of Zack's arm. Carmen bites back most of her grin. Shadow- _san_ can also get a little snippy when poked enough to set him on his dignity, like a cat with its fur rubbed the wrong way.

Ivy seizes the opportunity to poke a bit herself as she smirks. "Oh, look who's suddenly taking an interest."

His eyes widen. "That is not what I meant."

Carmen winks at Ivy as she launches into backstory. The older twin looks to have her own measure, and methods, for Team Red's newest member. The thief can only approve.

-/-

"All that, and now you stop," says Shadow _-san_ —and is that a note of protest she hears? Carmen grins to herself again because for a grumpy stone-faced ninja, he seems just a little too into Zack and Ivy's story. But the twins' recollection _is_ less than complete, so she and Player step up to give her side of history.

-/-

Shadow- _san_ is the one to grin at her afterwards, conspiratorial as he relates his own small role in Carmen Sandiego's first caper. Her stomach does a strange little swoop. Even when hidden, he has always been on her side. She likes the sound of that.

Something flutters behind it, something Carmen's not quite sure she's ready to chase.

Then of course Shadow- _san_ finds the one loose thread left from their Boston adventure. His eyebrow lifts as he asks, "Though I question why they haven't yet returned to pursuing their racing dreams." The twins answer for her so Carmen can smile, and breathe, as they brush off all concerns about hurrying back to their safe, normal, non-heistcapade-filled lives.

She keeps them off the front lines, or as much as she can. She keeps them off V.I.L.E.'s radar, if only by making herself the bigger target. Is it so wrong to let them to stay just a little while longer?

Thankfully Dubai calls via Player and Zack already has the motor running. "See?" the thief tells Shadow- _san_ cheerfully. "An HQ would be wasted on movers and shakers like us."

But she looks back at the warehouse as she says it.

-/-

Carmen hears the tail end of Ivy's plan to pass the sixteen-hour flight—something about peanuts, and extreme karaoke—and sees Shadow- _san_ 's shoulders already start to hunch. He's been remarkably patient as the twins settled into a routine of training with him and the thought that maybe he needs a break dovetails quite neatly with another idea Carmen has been tossing back and forth.

"I can handle Dubai," she informs him. "You should really use this time to focus on strategy with Player."

"So I have a choice of playdates," the ninja warily replies.

" _I heard that,_ " says Player. Carmen isn't impressed either because Shadow- _san_ 's walking a fine line from snippy to rude now, and to her oldest friend no less.

The thief tries to keep in mind how smoothly everything else is going. Shadow- _san_ has warmed to Zack; Ivy has warmed to Shadow- _san_. She just has to get these last two playing nice together and then they might all be a full-fledged team. So Carmen ignores the resistance on both sides as she continues, "Player's been decrypting the data on the hard drive you supplied, but you're the only one who can take the guesswork out of how V.I.L.E. might intend to put any of it to use."

Maybe he senses her thinning tolerance anyway because Shadow- _san_ is abruptly professional—and polite—as he walks back down the stairs. She hands over her laptop but leaves him and Player to sort out their own details after that. Onboard the plane Carmen feels quite pleased with herself. Player will have a chance to see the man as more than a V.I.L.E. mastermind—the worst one, by his lights—and even Shadow _-san_ could learn a thing or two from her secret weapon. Now she just has to find her own way to survive sixteen hours of uninterrupted sibling energy.

-/-

The plan was straightforward and involved minimal risk to life, limb, or property. She should have known it was doomed. _Still,_ Carmen thinks as she hides on a roof overlooking the police station, _there is off-the-rails and then there is_ absolute trainwreck. _How on earth am I going to get them out of this one?_ Zack and Ivy weren't exactly gemstones she could pocket and walk out with, assuming she could manufacture a good enough ruse to get near them.

Of course that's when Shadow- _san_ calls. "Not a good time," answers Carmen tersely.

" _What is wrong?_ "

He says it like he could just show up ready to help, but Shadow- _san_ is more than sixteen hours away and the twins are in trouble _now_. She does, kind of, wish he was here. "Let's just say tonight's break-in is starting to look more like a break-out," is her dry response.

" _Do not tell me the pranksters are in jail._ " She grimaces at how easily the ninja guesses their situation. " _I strongly urge that you consider finding better help than those amateurs._ "

Scratch that wish. The tone of his voice suggests he would leave them there, at least for now—and cuts entirely too close to her own brief unwelcome thought. A night in the holding cells would not actually hurt either teen after all. Only shake them up, and maybe teach her brave idiots to finally be _careful_ –

"My circus, my monkeys," she snaps.

Shadow _-san_ did not get to say things like that. Shadow- _san_ called her crew children even when they weren't being reckless. Shadow- _san_ wanted her to take some damn warehouse like it could ever be anything but a chain around her ankle, had convinced even Player to take his side, so she adds sharply, "We managed just fine before you joined, and will _continue_ to manage—WITHOUT a headquarters," and hangs up not feeling any guilt at all.

Not even a flicker.

She growls in disgust.

Later, after a minor miracle intervenes to release the twins without need for further misadventure, Carmen waits for them propped against her bike. Player has called her back with information about the mysterious limo and stays on the line. Zack and Ivy's faces practically glow with excitement even from across the street. It only makes the thief angrier because did they not _know_ how close they came to ruining their own lives? Even Player can't erase someone from paper records! Let alone flubbing the mission, which can be a concern again now that they are free.

Fury turns her harsh and fear even harsher; Carmen hears Shadow- _san_ in her head as she calls them amateurs. When she is finished, the twins are no longer bright-eyed or shining. They hang their heads, ashamed, and Carmen almost wonders if she went too far. Even so, she cannot find any softness in herself for them. Not yet. The thief puts on her helmet instead and drives off without another word.

They are nineteen, not nine. Finding a way back to the hotel can be their own responsibility.

-/-

Of _course_ V.I.L.E. switched the driver. At least the twins have shown, after Carmen heard them return late in the night but didn't see so much as a stray red hair come morning. Catching the supercar then takes all of her focus until they end up on a blimp over Dubai. When Zack tries to get her attention, Player's background on Sterling has already given her a pretty good idea of what he wants to confess.

It sounds like they did a lot of thinking on their way home; so did Carmen. The thief knows better than most what it's like to make life-altering decisions at the cost of people you considered family. She will not let that happen here. Zack and Ivy _are_ her family, more than anyone at V.I.L.E. ever was, and they will never have to feel alone no matter what they decide.

Although—as the person once known as Black Sheep thinks of the comm device in her earrings, the ever-present phone in her back pocket—come to think of it, neither has she.

Carmen tells them as much. And when they go talk to Sterling, she is in the stands backing up both of them.

-/-

"Funny. In a way it all began with Carmen Brand Outerwear." Carmen tries to smile. "Not sure there's a better place to hang my hat."

But Shadow- _san_ seems to pick up on her doubt and looks over. "I know this was… difficult for you," he quietly notes.

The thief's eyes slide away, as does her smile. "I'm really going to miss–"

But Zack interrupts from the entrance of their new… _home_ … and his enthusiasm reminds her why she's doing this as much as Ivy's broad grin. There's still that itchy feeling of being tied down—of constraint—but it's not unbearable. Player chimes in as well, V.I.L.E. activity already sending her and Shadow- _san_ back into the world. 

She's never been to Russia before. Carmen takes it as a good omen. 

-/-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
> 
> ― Terry Pratchett, _A Hat Full of Sky_
> 
> During my (many, many) stop-and-go rewatches, I noticed that Ivy's eyes go as wide as Zack's when they first see the very pretty Driver-in-disguise. Not that I'm saying they've tried to out-flirt each other over a mutually attractive girl - but they've totally tried to out-flirt each other over a mutually attractive girl. Ivy was just nice enough to respect Zack calling dibs. Also, someone needs to make that meme about who would win, a hypercompetent experienced very serious ninja or One (1) Friendly Boy.
> 
> In other news, you can check out the [timeline](https://nixariel.tumblr.com/post/630446363721842688/thinking-timeline-for-carmen-sandiego-or-just) I put together for Carmen's canon backstory! Next up is Auckland and I can promise you, Shadow- _san_ is not having a good time.


	5. Moscow (part one)

As it turns out, they do have time to stop for coffee before the flight to Moscow. Shadow- _san_ seems terribly pleased to be able to recommend a place and Carmen has no preference. She'll drink instant if that's what available—unlike Shadow _-san_ , who always looks vaguely horrified at watching her heat water in a microwave _._ They sip their drinks in the cheerful little café and Carmen brings up something she's been meaning to do since she returned to San Diego.

"Shadow- _san_ , I wanted to apologize."

He looks at her, surprised. "For what?"

"For yelling at you. Over the phone, in Dubai." Carmen sighs. "You were only saying what I was already thinking," she glumly explains. "I just—didn't like that I _was_ thinking it. I'm sorry I took that out on you."

The ninja's gaze lowers to frown at his cup. Returning to her, his face is stern as he counters, "You had every right to speak as you did. Your team achieved a great deal long before I joined you and I should not have dismissed that simply because of their age. Sorting through data from the hard drive with Player was… illuminating. He is a formidable hacker, and a good friend to you. I am honoured to work with him."

Carmen smiles, trying not to grin _._ Only Shadow- _san_ could make a compliment sound like a scolding. And— _honoured_? "He's my ace in the hole," she says proudly, enjoying the private joke. Then her own gaze drops for a moment. "And the twins?"

Shadow- _san_ winces. "They are… young, and their actions in Dubai put themselves at risk far more than any mission. Had their Mr. Sterling not intervened, the consequences of their recklessness could have been very severe indeed. Though I will admit they have also demonstrated admirable dedication—and loyalty. I have been impressed by their attention in their lessons."

"Even Zack?" she teases.

He grunts. "Especially Zack." His eyes meet hers soberly. "They _are_ amateurs, Carmen. That is a risk you cannot ignore. There will be other mistakes." The ninja sighs. "But I suppose I too was an amateur once. Many years ago."

"You're not that old, Shadow- _san_ ," says Carmen. Her mouth lifts higher on one side, head tilting to look at him. "Don't sell yourself so short."

He blinks.

The thief feels a bloom of heat in her cheeks. Carmen hastily straightens, seizing on anything to gloss over the sudden odd self-consciousness. "B-besides, even with a home base, there's no lawn for you to tell kids to get off of. And we're going to be late for our flight if we don't leave soon." She stands, snagging both empty mugs to deposit in the shop's dirty-dish bin.

Behind her, unseen and puzzled, the ninja mouths: _lawn?_

-/-

Running missions with Shadow- _san_ still gives Carmen a tiny thrill, especially since the crew's recent heists have been more divide-and-conquer than side-by-side. The first leg of their flight is spent discussing strategy. With Player only able to confirm location, the range of potential targets is staggering and requires a certain flexibility in their approach. Taking an entire haystack, so to speak, in order to pull the needle out later. Normally that kind of Tigress-like heavy-handedness would drive the thief to pace and brood, throwing herself against the sullen wall of _what did V.I.L.E. **want**_ no matter how little chance of cracking it. She just—never quite gets there, this time. Somehow the conversation always redirects before Carmen can fall prey to frustration.

She does learn Shadow- _san_ speaks and reads Russian, fluent to her own barely-passable. Unfortunately the former faculty member is as closemouthed about this as he is about everything in his past. Although tempted to push, especially with the hint of 'Fashion Fest' in how he avoids explaining, Carmen trusts Shadow- _san_ to tell her now if it's something she truly needs to know.

The thief accidentally nods off against his shoulder somewhere over the Atlantic and is doubly surprised on waking to find the plane putting wheels down for Moscow. First, because Carmen can't believe he _let_ her _sleep_ on him—she'd have bet Ivy Shadow- _san_ would vanish like his namesake before permitting the indignity of playing pillow. Second, because she never conked out like that during air travel. Ever. First class or economy, neither made a difference in whatever it was that aggravated her already restless disposition; even lying down on the chartered plane only let her doze at best. But here she was, having snoozed soundly for—Carmen checked the time— _six hours_.

"Um. Sorry about that," she mutters to Shadow- _san_ , furtively checking to see if she'd drooled.

He shrugs. "You did not bother me." Then his lip twitches. "Even you cannot find trouble while asleep. At least, not _more_ trouble."

Carmen rolls her eyes. "You think you're so cute," she shoots back. Looking down to check her phone, she misses the way he glances at her, startled. "Player's arranged IDs," she announces, scanning the hacker's text. "Once we pick them up, we're good to go."

"A–ah. Right."

-/-

Losing their grip on Neal the Eel is disappointing but not a complete loss. Player has most of a server's worth of data to sift through to find V.I.L.E.'s prize, which gives Carmen and Shadow- _san_ time to fly back to San Diego. As they wait in the lounge for passengers to be called to board, the ninja's gaze flickers sideways to her. Quietly he asks, "Carmen, _why_ would I tell children to get off a lawn? Is that not where they are supposed to be?"

For a moment Carmen has no idea what he is talking about. Then she remembers their coffee-shop conversation and has to hold back a giggle. "Shadow- _san_ , have– have you been wondering about that the _whole time_?"

"Of course not," is his staunch—and quick—reply.

She grins up at him, not believing in the slightest. "Uh-huh."

His ears turn pink when he blushes; Carmen is again delighted to find a crack in that stubborn composure. The thief tucks her arm around his. "Just a joke," she reassures, "and not a very good one. Learned it from Ivy and Zack. You could ask them about it." Her eyes, she knows, must be gleaming with mischief.

Shadow- _san_ growls under his breath and Carmen can't keep from giggling anymore—albeit softly.

"I am not that curious, Carmen," he notes in a dry tone. She rests her head on his shoulder.

"Of course not," she agrees, earnestness belied by the way her mouth keeps twitching. "You know, you could always join us for the twins' 'get Carm up to speed on pop culture' sessions."

He sighs.

"Or I could ask Player to do an info-dive."

" _No_ , Carmen."

She laughs and laughs.

-/-

By the time they get back to their work-in-progress headquarters, Player has a few answers about what V.I.L.E. wanted. Carmen isn't sure why his mind jumps to Gray when they both know how—and why—the lighting tech is a civilian now, but he lets it drop easily enough when Shadow- _san_ leans over Carmen to dismiss the idea.

Because Shadow- _san_ does. Lean over her, that is.

From this close she can catch the hint of something not quite mint and not quite pine. It's too faint to be cologne, which probably wouldn't suit the whole ninja-disappearing act anyway, so Carmen figures it must be the soap Shadow- _san_ uses. The sense of him hanging over her shoulder is utterly unlike sitting side-by-side even in the narrow quarters of an airplane. If she leans back, she could almost rest her head against his chest. Carmen feels her stomach give that strange flutter again.

The thief ignores it by sitting as straight as she possibly can, eyes firmly locked on the computer screen. She glances up once, only to find Shadow- _san_ already looking back, and fights the urge to snap her gaze forward like he'd caught her planning to pick his pocket. When he abruptly steps away, Carmen could swear she feels the shift like a change in temperature.

She's sparred with this man. She's _slept_ on this man. So there was really no call for feeling embarrassed when he wasn't even touching her!

Zack and Ivy's antics are exactly what Carmen needs to steady herself, if perhaps a sign that they should join her info-dives with Player a little more often. As the hacker continues through a surprisingly detailed assessment for a security system he 'just' pulled up, she also starts to suspect his mention of Gray wasn't nearly as offhand as it seemed. That he immediately seconds Shadow- _san_ 's suggestion—one she is surprised to hear the ninja make, given what he must know about V.I.L.E.'s erstwhile graduate—confirms her hunch.

Player already knew about Bellum's top-security lab. Player already worked out what they needed to break in—to the point of advocating _for_ recruiting Gray when he didn't trust the ex-Crackle any more than he did Shadow- _san_ when the ninja first joined Team Red. The only question was _why_.

Well, her only question. The hacker might have a few himself if she finally told him the true object of Gray's attack on the train. Player still thought her second-oldest friend meant to knock her out for transport back to V.I.L.E.

Carmen knows he tried to kill her.

-/-

She gets her chance to ask that evening, although it takes retreating to the warehouse's roof to find any sort of privacy. Everyone might have their own bed by now but her room still lacked a door. Continuing the building-wide renovation was to be Shadow- _san_ 's purview while the rest of them were busy in New Zealand. Not that he liked the idea of staying behind, particularly when so much rested on one who left V.I.L.E. involuntarily, but even the hard-headed ninja had to admit his presence could prove more risk than benefit when it came to Dr. Bellum's mindwipe.

Carmen pulls out her phone. Tucking in a set of ear buds, she video-calls Player over their secured line.

"Hey," she says lightly.

" _…Hey, Red._ " The hacker's smile can't mask the guarded line of his shoulders. He knows this isn't a social chat, not after they just spent the last few hours working out details for the upcoming heist.

She gets straight to the point. "So, do you wanna tell me why you've been studying Bellum's super secret Kiwi-lab?" It's not rhetoric. If he genuinely does not want to talk about this, Carmen will respect that no matter how unhappy it makes her. They couldn't work out of each other's pockets the way they did if either of them didn't know when to let something slide.

Player sighs. " _Not really. But it's going to bother you until I do, right?_ "

"Got it in one."

He sighs again. " _You remember Poitiers?_ "

Carmen blinks. Coach Brunt beat the stuffing out of her in a dank little room, then tried to snap her spine. Yes, it's safe to say she remembers Poitiers. "Yeah."

" _I… didn't have any visuals. Just your audio, but it was coming through loud and clear._ "

The thief feels her eyes go wide _. Oh, Player…_

Their comm turned faint and staticky as soon as she hit the chateau's bottommost level; Carmen had assumed reception was as bad on his end. When the fight with Coach turned against her, she fervently hoped it was. Neither of them really tried to discuss the situation afterwards. Now Carmen wonders if Player wanted to spare her the memory as much as she wanted to spare him the guilt.

" _I heard everything Brunt said. I heard—heard every time she_ hit _you, Red. And all I could do was sit there._ " The raw look on his face makes Carmen's heart hurt. " _I couldn't even call the_ gendarme _because A.C.M.E. already did. When I heard Shadow-_ san _yell, that was it. I thought_ "—he swipes at his eyes—" _I really, really thought he'd killed you, Carmen._ "

"That's why you were so leery about trusting Shadow- _san_ ," Carmen realizes. _And—still are?_

Player laughs, the sound a little wet. " _Hey, my devil's advocate was perfectly reasonable for what we knew about the guy._ "

She smiles. "It was," admits the thief. "Thank you, Player, for looking out for me."

" _Anytime, Red. Which—is kinda why I've been looking into_ all _of V.I.L.E.'s facilities. Not just Bellum's labs._ "

"All of them? Why?"

" _Because Brunt asked you to go back._ " Bounded by her phone, that gaze is too heavy, too old, to suit her best friend's face. His thin shoulders square. " _V.I.L.E. still wants you, Red—so if I know how their security systems work, I can get you out of them. No matter where they take you. Just—just stay alive. Whatever it takes._ Please _, Carmen._ "

Carmen sits on the low wall encircling the warehouse's roof. In her head, the feeling of being crushed—arms pinioned at her sides, trapped in Coach's vise-like grip, airless and desperate as the dark closed in—rises like a phantom. Player hadn't been the only one to think she was going to die in that damp basement. First at Brunt's hands, then at Shadow- _san_ 's sword. But the alternative was living in a cage for the rest of her life, whether the physical prison of the island or her own mind if the faculty threw her to Bellum's machines. The alternative was giving up everything that made her… _Carmen._

The thief swallows hard. "Okay," she says, in a voice she barely recognizes as her own. "I'll take their deal if that's my other option. I'll wait for you to find me. But Player, you need to know, you can't—can't trust V.I.L.E. Not even about this."

Player frowns. " _What do you mean, Red?_ "

"I mean they might not offer to take me back alive again—and they might not keep it even if they do. There's something I haven't told you about Gray."

He goes very still. Brown eyes lose focus, flipping through past encounters, then widen. " _The hole in the train,_ " the hacker breathes. His brow furrows warily. " _But you said–_ "

"I said it was a misfire. I said the crackle-rod's controls got jogged in the fight." Carmen sighs. "They didn't," she confesses. "Gray powered it up all the way before I jumped him. He—he was ready to _kill_ me, Player. Because V.I.L.E. ordered–" This time it's her eyes that are a little too bright.

Jean-Paul nearly begged her to walk away the first time they met on opposite sides. Antonio apologized in advance. Gray—her closest friend at school, defending her at every turn—said goodbye, _regretted_ , and still turned the dial to full.

" _Carmen,_ " Player whispers.

"I'm sorry," she chokes out. "I lied to you, and I'm sorry. I just– you knew how much I _liked_ him, Player, you knew about that stupid crush I used to have, and even after he was still my big brother, and I c-couldn't– I didn't want to–"

She feels wet warmth dripping down her cheeks. Sliding down the wall, Carmen buries her face in her knees. Words push themselves out anyway. "How could he _do_ that to me, Player? How could he—for _V.I.L.E._ , when w-we were _—ngh–_ " The thief closes her mouth before another soft, wounded noise could escape. It still rises in her throat, battering against her teeth.

" _'Cause Crackle's an_ asshole _, Red, and we don't need him,_ " promises Player roughly, hands clutching his monitor, unable to cross the thousands of kilometres between them in any other way. " _We'll come up with a different plan—we'll find some other way—Red, you don't have to see him, you never have to see him, please,_ please _let me call someone, please don't cry–_ "

Carmen sucks in air, forcing her stuttered breaths to even out. "You can't tell them, Player," she pleads. "Not—not now. I don't w-want them to know. And we do need Gray, you know we do. This plan is our best shot but it can't work without him. I promise, I _promise_ I'm fine, that it'll all be fine, just—I just need a minute."

Carefully laying the phone on the bitumen, she scrubs her face dry with her hoodie sleeves. Then Carmen presses both palms into her eyes, willing the heat to fade, the swelling to subside, herself to be a better judge of people. When she is at least sure no more tears threaten to escape, the thief takes her hands away. Player watches from the screen, worry in the tightness of his mouth.

"The plan is a good one," she insists with something approaching conviction. "I didn't tell you about Gray to change it. I told you because I shouldn't have lied to you in the first place. All I need to know is that you've still got my back."

He lifts his chin like he's daring anyone to say otherwise. " _I've always got your back, Red. Now more than ever._ "

"Thanks, Player." She waves a hand at her face, wincing. "And… how bad is it?"

The hacker grimaces. " _You might get past Zack. In the dark. With your hat._ "

"Ugh. Guess I'm stuck out here with you for a while then." She makes a weak attempt at a grin, and Player rolls his eyes.

" _Gee, thanks_ ," he says wryly.

Carmen perks up. "Hey, can we play that phone game?"

" _Words with Friends?_ "

"Yeah, that one."

" _You got it, Red—but prepare to be thoroughly trounced._ "

"Bring it on, mushroom boy."

-/-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First we flirt, then we angst. Not necessarily about the flirting, but we're not ruling it out either. That hole in the train roof when Gray's crackle-rod went off in the first season was also... _slightly concerning_ to me. The metal just evaporated. Not blown back. _Gone._ That is not something I like to think about being pointed at a squishy human. Nor do I buy Player suddenly welcoming Gray onto the crew without a very significant ulterior motive. He's too suspicious an anklebiter to forgive that easily—or at all, really. Just because Carmen can't hold a grudge doesn't mean Player won't. I imagine listening helplessly while your best friend gets thrown around like a rag doll doesn't lend itself to an absolving nature either.
> 
> On a lighter note, guess what an anon made me?! [This!](https://imgur.com/a/gqhifFr) It is PERFECT and I love it. Otherwise, this chapter turned long, editing was kicking my butt, and I just wanted to get something out. So I broke it in two. They went to two different continents in the episode, I figured it was justified? Hoping to get part 2 out soon. Feel free to guess how Shadow- _san_ knows Russian!


	6. Auckland (part two)

By the time Player pronounces her reddened eyes no worse than jetlag could account for, the sky is full dark and Carmen is ready to call it a night. The thief falls into bed with the exhaustion that comes from emptying herself of tears. But for whatever reason—maybe that unexpected catnap—true sleep eludes her. After tossing and turning to no avail, Carmen finally gives in and slips downstairs to the kitchen for some warm milk. To her surprise, a pot of tea is steeping on the counter when she gets there–

–because Shadow- _san_ stands next to it, gaze shuttered, staring into space.

Mid-flight was not the only time Carmen struggled to fall asleep; just the most consistent. She'd grown accustomed to waking at an unconscionable hour at least once a week with the need to do something, anything, other than lie around. Normally that urge turned into researching leads from Player's latest update or ordering a midnight snack from room service. Zack and Ivy slept too deeply for any subtle creaking from a hotel couch or opened door to bother them.

Less so their resident ninja. Looking up one night, expecting an empty room and seeing Shadow- _san_ putting water on to boil instead, startled Carmen enough that she nearly upended her laptop. It drew his eye. She'd flushed as she stumbled through an apology for disturbing him. " _You did not,_ " was all he would say, then and every time after that she tried—plus or minus a grunt or two. " _I merely felt like having something to drink._ " Three such coincidences later, Carmen gave up apologizing and started asking for an extra set of cutlery if she called room service. Very sneaky ninjas noticed such invitations even if he never took her up on it.

He ignored the hotel tea selection too, always pulling out a plain black tin and battered tea ball. Sometimes they talked as they sipped. Sometimes they simply sat in comfortable silence. Yet by the end of her cup Carmen inevitably found herself heavy-eyed, listening to the tap run as her companion rinsed out his strainer and the latest teapot he'd borrowed.

Tonight, though, it seems like Shadow- _san_ is wrestling with his own demons.

"Can't sleep?" asks Carmen. She slides across from him onto a stool at the old workbench the crew had defaulted into using as a kitchen table.

He inclines his head, not quite a yes or a no. His expression is a blank wall. "You?"

The thief shrugs one shoulder. "Just—thinking about Gray."

"You seemed troubled after the briefing this afternoon," he notes. "Did talking to Player help?"

Carmen feels the corners of her mouth lift. _Sneaky ninja._ He probably guessed why she went up to the roof; she wouldn't be surprised if he'd had a discreet word with the twins, explaining the lack of interruptions. "Yes, actually. Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

Shadow- _san_ turns to take out the tea ball, shaking off a few drips before transferring it to the sink. "I am concerned about this plan," he says, still facing away from her. "Keeping Crackle unaware of his true purpose adds a great deal of unnecessary complexity."

She frowns at his back. He'd raised the same objection earlier and Carmen had been adamant that Gray's safety took precedence. Stubbornness aside, it wasn't like the ninja to challenge her once a decision was made—nor would worrying over strategy put that stony look on his face.

If Shadow- _san_ didn't want to tell, he could just say so. There was no need for some… _bait-and-switch_ to keep Carmen from pestering him.

"Gray's out of the game and I plan to keep him that way. I can handle a little extra complexity for that," is all she says. Like Player, Carmen would have respected Shadow- _san_ 's choice—if he'd given her the chance—regardless of her opinion on it. 

Shadow- _san_ returns the familiar tin to his cupboard, kitchen shelf-space having been divvied up by the twins while he and Carmen were in Russia. He also pulls down an extra mug from the communal section before pouring steaming tea into both. "I know you two were—close—at the academy."

"You mean I had a ginormous crush and everyone else could see it from fifty feet away," the thief corrects, taking refuge in flippancy against the one-two punch of having him pick now to ask on the heels of giving her the run-around. At least her old foolishness stings less as a joke—though Carmen has a feeling she could be serious even about this and Shadow- _san_ would treat it with the same gentle gravity he did all her bruises.

"I did not know," he admits, eyes briefly meeting the thief's as he sets the second cup in front of her. "I am sorry, Carmen. It must have been difficult to find him sent to bring you back."

She shrugs again. "Don't be. It was over long before he caught up on that train." Almost as soon as Black Sheep learned that he and then-Sheena were a thing, actually. Jean-Paul had been kind in a way he rarely bothered with.

"A–ah." Drinks served, Shadow- _san_ still doesn't seem ready to unbend enough to sit. He stands on his side of the table and sips from his mug. Carmen blows on hers, preferring it a little less scalding. "Yet you are going to significant lengths for his sake. Are you sure–" the ninja cuts himself off, staring into his tea.

Her frown reappears, deeper than before.

He sighs. "Would it be so terrible, Carmen?" asks Shadow- _san_ softly. "If he did remember? He cared about you, even I could tell that. He might join you if he knew."

If Carmen hadn't lanced that particular wound only hours earlier, she might flinch. As it is, Shadow- _san_ catches the flatness to her face when he glances up. "He did not confront you of his own volition," he adds, gaze once more fixed on his cup. "We gave him no choice. Nor did he hide his reluctance well."

"I guess," answers Carmen, staring at her own mug. "But he did it anyway." For all his encouragement, for all he claimed she was in a league of her own, Gray never made the jump to join her. Never left V.I.L.E. of his own free will.

 _Shadow-_ san _left_ , whispers something at the back of her mind. _Shadow-_ san _jumped._

A few puzzle pieces suddenly click together, distracting Carmen from the stray thought. She turns an inquisitive eye on the ninja. "Shadow- _san_ , why _did_ the faculty send Gray? I'm sure Tigress would have leapt at the excuse to sharpen her claws on me."

Shadow _-san_ shoots her a dry look. "She did. But it was felt that Crackle had better odds of bringing you in willingly, given your past association."

Carmen mulls that over. _'It was felt'_ , _huh?_ She smiles faintly. "And if I wasn't willing, wouldn't he also be the most likely to let me get away?"

He grunts. "Then he would have the chance to prove his loyalty."

The smile widens. " _You_ sent him," Carmen fondly accuses. "You were trying to sabotage their plan."

He gives a little growl, irritated at being caught out, then sighs. "I did not think anything would convince you to return. If I had, I would have spoken in favour of Tigress's request. You never trusted her and would not have believed any offer she carried."

"But?" prompts Carmen.

Shadow- _san_ grimaces. "But, " he allows, "I did… _consider_ … that Crackle might leave V.I.L.E. and join you, given the opportunity. I thought you could use an ally."

Carmen runs her thumb over a flaw in the glaze of her mug. "Oh," she says quietly. "Guess he disappointed both of us then."

He reaches across to lay a light hand over hers, stilling the motion. "There is more," the ninja confesses. "V.I.L.E. does not accept betrayal easily. That pardon would never have been as unconditional as Crackle was led to believe. At the very least, you would have been sent to Dr. Bellum's laboratory. At worst, executed to warn others against attempting the same. Had I arranged for him to discover this, Cr– Graham might have chosen differently."

The hand pulls back; Carmen misses his warmth. Shadow- _san_ 's voice is very low. "The boy acted foolishly, Carmen. But he is young, as—as you are young. Is his mistake truly unforgiveable?"

Her head snaps up in shock, feeling half-betrayed herself. Of all people to—Shadow- _san_ , defending _Gray_? Who tried to _kill_ her? Shadow- _san_ , who–

–who stares back at her, face open with surprise—and confusion. Like he has no idea why she would react so sharply.

Like he had… no idea…  
_Bringing you in. Tigress. At worst, executed.  
_The words play back in her head; comprehension hits Carmen like static shock.

 _Shadow-san didn't know_.

He thought Crackle's role was to retrieve her, by force if need be, but definitely alive. He _didn't know_ Gray tried to kill her—which meant the attempt wasn't ordered by V.I.L.E. faculty.

Or at least, not by the whole; a suspicion she'll have to chase later because Carmen is confident now that, amnesiac or not, Shadow- _san_ would never agree to any plan that put her life back in the hands of someone who tried to take it. He would be stubborn— _more stubborn_ —and protective— _more protective_ —and insist on accompanying her regardless of the risk if Gray saw him. Nor did she have time to argue the ninja out of coming.

Carmen looks away, knowing precisely how to deflect Shadow- _san_ even if she doesn't like it. "Maybe," is her reply, and her mouth twists for more than one reason, "but you chose to run rather than fight _your_ sibling."

His wince makes her stomach clench, a sour contrast to when he leaned over her just that afternoon. Silently, Carmen promises to make it up to him—and to tell Shadow- _san_ the truth when she returns. "I should get some sleep," she announces, standing up. "Will you see us off to the airport tomorrow?"

"Of course."

Her answering smile is strained but genuine. "Thanks, Shadow _-san_. You get some sleep too, okay? I promise I can handle this."

He nods, but makes no moves to leave the kitchen even as Carmen takes her half-full mug with her.

-/-

Seeing Gray—Graham—is bittersweet as always. He flirts with her over his midday coffee, something Carmen hadn't realized he'd been doing until after the fact last time. She'd been too preoccupied by his unexpected presence and even more unexpected lack of recognition. Solving that mystery means there's no distraction from what ought to be a minor shift compared to his no-longer-criminal impulses. Still the change… unsettles her, a little.

As she told Shadow- _san_ , her crush burnt itself out a long time ago. Carmen fully thought of Gray as a brother, when she could think of him at all without seeing that crackle-rod aimed with lethal intent. But this new Gray— _Graham_ —clearly does not think of her like a sister. So the thief doesn't quite say no, doesn't quite say yes to what sounds very much like a _date_ after the caper.

Her first instinct is to talk to Player, who says, " _Red, exactly how much do you think_ I _know about dating?_ "

Carmen pauses. "Okay, point," she admits. "Think I should ask Zack or Ivy?" Then her ears catch up with her brain and she rephrases. "Think I should ask _Ivy_?" Zack had to figure out how to flirt with people he liked and not countesses whom he didn't before he was allowed to play agony aunt.

" _Why not try Shadow-_ san _?_ "

Even the idea sits strange and fidgety in her belly. "Shadow… _san_ ," echoes the thief. She knows hacker and ninja are working more smoothly together since she went to Dubai, but that was professional—and this, decidedly _not_. Kindness to her bruises aside, Carmen strongly suspects asking something this—adolescent—would only earn her an impassive stare and a Zack-worthy brush-off.

" _Yeah. He's old. He's got to have dated_ somebody _once._ "

She rolls her eyes. "He's not that old, Player."

"… _Okay,_ " the teen concedes, watching her curiously. " _But he's definitely older than anyone else on the team. If you're looking for a sounding board, I'd try him._ "

"Right. I'll—think about it." Another thought strikes, one that reminds Carmen how close Player's puckish streak can run to her own. "And are you going to be listening on any phone calls I make in the next fifteen minutes?"

" _If they're to Shadow-_ san _? Absolutely._ " The teen grins. " _No way am I going to miss out on hearing ninja ex-masterminds give_ loooove _advice—or his face if there's video._ "

So maybe things weren't _entirely_ smooth between them yet. She raises an eyebrow. "Player."

" _Aw, c'mon Red, please? Pretty please? You know Zack would only get the Scowl That Ate Tokyo._ "

" _Player_."

He gives a mournful sigh, slowly tapping out a command on his keyboard like it pains him to do so. Carmen doesn't believe a second of it. " _Only for you, Red. One totally-secure phone, coming right up, and I'll mute your comm-earring until you beep me. But you_ have _to give me the play-by-play afterwards._ "

"Deal."

Grin already sneaking back, Player signs off.

-/-

Carmen is in the Sydney airport lounge before she musters the nerve to call. Zack and Ivy have gone walkabout to stock up on snacks while their chartered plane refuels. When she finally dials his number—because Player had a point, not to mention how limited her options were otherwise—Shadow- _san_ picks up after a single ring and answers with the standard telephone greeting of, " _What is wrong_?"

Carmen smiles, feeling a tension in her ease. His readiness to spring into action was sweet, if a little paranoid. "Nothing's wrong, Shadow- _san_. I just wanted to call you."

He digests that. " _Oh. I—see._ " There's another pause. " _How is the mission going?_ "

"Pretty good. Gray's agreed to manage the board for our ballet and flies to Auckland tomorrow morning. We'll be ready to go at eight P.M. local time."

" _That sounds according to plan._ "

"Yeah. How are _you_ doing?"

He huffs under his breath. The thief smiles again at the familiar sound. " _I believe I have grown too comfortable with the twins' talent for chaos_ ," Shadow-san grumbles. " _Now any kind of quiet only means they are_ thinking _—and I do not know which is worse."_

"So if Zack were to fly back to keep you company…" teases Carmen.

" _I will manage,_ " he replies firmly.

She laughs, then sobers, wondering if she should have opted for video after all. His face would make whatever Shadow- _san_ said next easier to interpret even if it meant seeing something she'd rather not.

Like annoyance.

"Actually," Carmen forces herself to add, "there was something I wanted to ask you about. Or get advice on, I guess."

" _Oh?_ "

"Gray—kindofaskedmeonadate." The words run together in her haste to get them out and she's not sure the ninja actually understood, so still is the other end of the line. "Sorry. Gray— _Graham_ asked me on a date. Sort of. Again. I mean he did the same thing last time but I didn't go, partly because I didn't realize it was a _date_ date but also because I didn't know why V.I.L.E. would wipe his memory, and Player thought it could be a trap, but Gray was definitely interested, so–"

" _Carmen._ " Shadow- _san_ 's voice cuts through the babble, thankfully letting her stop.

"Right. Yes. Yes?"

" _What did you wish to ask me?_ "

Even with no one else to turn to, the thief fully expected to be shut down; that Shadow- _san_ instead tolerates Carmen being this ridiculous warms her through. "Oh! Um. Well, I guess—should I go? He barely knows me, not anymore, and the Gray I knew would never have asked me for a–a _cuppa_ like that. I was a kid sister to him."

" _Perhaps not as much as you thought._ "

"I—guess. Yeah." Some kind of latent attraction, Carmen supposed, no longer suppressed by a relationship that precluded acting on it. Sitting through most of Maelstrom's psych lectures twice made it hard not to retain a few details.

" _You cared about him as more than a brother. He is important to you._ "

Had the same invitation come a few years earlier, Black Sheep would have been over the moon. His smile still made her want to smile back. "Yeah."

" _Do you want to see him?_ "

"I…I don't know." Because she wasn't Black Sheep anymore. And this Gray—wasn't _her_ Gray.

" _Would it make you happy, Carmen?_ "

"I don't know," she whispers. Her Gray had been willing to hurt people.

Gently he says, " _Then perhaps you should try, and find out._ "

Carmen sighs. "Thanks, Shadow- _san_. I—I know this must seem pretty silly with everything else going on but I really appreciate it."

For a moment the line is silent. Then, " _I am always happy to listen to you, Carmen._ "

The thief frowns. "Shadow- _san_? Are you sure you're alright? You sound—tired." 'Off' would be more apt, an undercurrent to his voice she can't quite define, but neither is there a polite way to say as much from half a world away. Carmen starts to regret not using the video function.

" _It is nothing, Carmen. Merely a poor night's sleep. I will be fine._ "

"Okay," because there's little she can do if he still won't say anything, "but maybe try turning on the radio? Sometimes white noise helps if you're used to people being around."

" _Ah. I will try that. Good luck, Carmen._ "

"Thanks, Shadow- _san_ ," and Carmen hears the click as his cell hangs up. She stares at her own phone.

Something was definitely bothering him. As tempting as the notion of confronting him on it is— _no secrets, remember? we learn to communicate_ —the ninja isn't being shifty like he was about the _daisho_. Just reserved, and she trusts him not to pull a stunt like Japan again anyway.

Carmen _trusts_ him. She just… thought he trusted her too.

-/-

The thief knows from the moment she runs into Neal that Shadow- _san_ was right about this caper being too complicated. There's no room for surprises, layers falling in on themselves at the very first snag. But the worst part—dropping ice down her spine and her heart to her boots—is seeing Gray hold a crackle-rod again. Carmen waits for recognition to sweep across his face, frozen in the certainty that this _, this_ is the blow to unleash Crackle from behind Graham's eyes.

He drops it instead. She breathes out.

"You… don't run a children's charity," Graham guesses. The thief smiles at him, feeling a kind of clarity bloom in her. Bellum's mindblock might have withstood this test yet the question lingered: _what would he do?_ However much Carmen likes the new Gray, forgives the former's mistakes, wants a second chance—what he does not remember, she cannot forget. _If he remembered, what would he do?_

She doesn't know. And maybe that's why Carmen decides to accept that cuppa once this is finished–

"I'll explain over that coffee."

–as a friend.

Then Dr. Bellum threatens to turn off all of Auckland, giving the thief slightly bigger things to worry about.

-/-

The entire caper danced on the thin edge of disaster but somehow she and Graham pull it off. They neutralize the Trip Wire prototype, saving the city. They escape V.I.L.E.'s top secret lab without revealing her unexpected accomplice. Graham put down the crackle-rod and didn't know Bellum's voice and both of them are no more than bruised after their rough landing. Carmen calls Shadow- _san_ to tell him the good news while the twins sightsee before the short flight back to Australia.

" _So,_ " says the ninja after her recap, " _Crackle is forgiven then?_ " He's left the video off; she makes a note to show him how to enable it on his phone when she returns.

"He's not Crackle anymore, Shadow _-san._ He's Graham,"—something Carmen finds herself _believing_ now—"a sparkie from Sydney who maybe knows a little more about industrial-grade electric than he thinks. And you were right, you know."

The line goes still. She laughs.

"Yes, enjoy it, I'm saying you're right," the thief teases. "Gray made mistakes, ones that hurt people. Graham… helped save Auckland." She laughs again. "Even if he left me a little deaf in one ear going up that tower. And hey, how often do you _really_ get a second chance to make a first impression?"

" _You sound… happy._ "

Carmen sobers. "Gray was like my big brother in a lot of ways. Graham's not the same, but I think—we could be friends? Maybe?" A crush, a charming grin, a warmth saved specially for her. Maybe their closeness could have become something else if she'd stayed with V.I.L.E. Or if he joined her in leaving. But she didn't, and he hadn't, and the only sparks Carmen can see between them now spit violent green against a crackling hum.

Shadow- _san_ 's voice is as gentle as before. " _You have a generous nature, Carmen. I am glad for you_." He adds, after a pause, " _Have a safe flight._ "

That's a signal easy to read. "Thanks, Sha–" but the phone disconnects before she can finish. For the second time in three days, the thief finds herself looking at a dark screen with a twinge in her chest.

He'd only cut the call a little short. It was Shadow- _san_ 's nature to be brusque. She, on the other hand, jabbered the man's ear off about a mission he had to forgo, leaving him to watch a building while she took on V.I.L.E. Was he—mad at her? Bored? Frustrated? Player always had a few V.I.L.E. targets on the go for decryption, prioritizing as new information sifted in from the cloud. At least one had to be suited for a solo mission, and there was no true need for Shadow- _san_ to stay in San Diego. All he had to do was _say something_.

Not today though, it seemed. Or not to her. Mouth an unhappy line, the thief texts Player about arranging a ride from Sydney airport to a certain café.

-/-

She shows up at eight P.M. on the dot. Graham is already there, at the same table no less, and his slyly raised eyebrow at seeing her makes Carmen grin. "Is it fashionable to be on time?" he banters.

"More so than being predictable," she quips back, earning herself a chuckle.

His eyes flick over her as she takes the other seat, less assured than his blithe grin suggests. "And is it predictable to drink coffee at a coffee shop?"

The thief feels her face soften. He'd put his trust as well as his hand in hers on that tower; he was allowed to have second thoughts now that it was no longer life-and-death. "Not if it's good."

"Ah. Then I'd recommend the house latte."

She tilts her head in agreement and he catches the eye of one of the waitstaff, flashing two fingers. The man nods briskly. Carmen stares, amused, as Graham turns back to her with no other sign needed.

"Favourite café, huh?"

He shrugs. "What can I say? When the cuppa's good, why go elsewhere?"

Carmen rolls her eyes but forbears to tease. "How was your flight?" she asks instead.

The talk stays small as they wait for their drinks, the tech oddly quiet. Even his smile seems subdued. His preoccupation doesn't bother her though; Carmen suspects she knows what is on his mind, and is content to let him work himself around to asking for that explanation she promised. _If_ he asks. It's almost comforting to see Graham use light words and the occasional wink to ease a difficult situation into safer waters—much like Gray might have done. Gray, however, would never have expected Black Sheep to be so patient. He used to be the one to out-wait _her_ , albeit never out-stubborn. Sometimes he joked she should have been named 'Black Goat' instead.

The fond memory stirs something at the back of her mind, prompting her to notice just how much it does feel like old times. She finally puts her finger on why when their coffees arrive: her old-new friend lacks the intent he made no game of hiding at the opera house, or even at this very café not three days ago. Convenient as that is, the change still sparks her curiosity. Yet Carmen only sips her very pleasant latte and focuses on watching dusk fall over Sydney.

Graham has excellent taste in beverages and tables alike. Their view of the opera house is stunning. And it's his call to decide if answers are worth the risk of knowing. For herself, the thief honestly can't say which she'd rather the former operative choose. At least the last time she tried this—sitting at a café, drink in hand, picking her way through a delicate conversation—turned out well.

Even if her partner from then won't _talk to her_ now.

Carmen shoves the burr of Shadow- _san_ 's silence aside. The conversation between her and Graham peters out, leaving them both idly people-watching as a few brave stars compete against the streetlights. Finally the tech says, "Carmen, I have to know. Are you a spy? Part of some kind of… secret service?"

It's not entirely incorrect to call her crew that, so she shrugs and goes with it. "I do provide a service and it is secret, so… yeah. Something like that." If he's chosen answers, she wants to be honest—but there's still the very real danger of putting Graham in harm's way if he learns too much. Carmen tries to find the best line she can walk between the two.

He pauses, uncertainty weighing down his face. "But we are the good guys?"

The thief has to bite her lip to hold back how much she wants to beam at him for that. Gray wouldn't have asked; Gray didn't care. Graham did, which gave further proof to how different he'd become.

A thought that was slowly losing its bitterness.

"Absolutely."

Carmen slips away while he's distracted with Team Red's thank-you. She's already on the ocean-walk, Player chatting in her ear, by the time she remembers her own unsure-if-she-should-ask question. There's no doubt in her mind: Graham flirted with her, lightly but steadily, almost from the moment he discovered her backstage. Then tonight, on the date she actually showed up to—nothing. Could the glimpse behind this Carmen's curtain have scared him off? The same person who jumped off a building with only a moment's falter, kept his head as their glider went down? Gray, she remembers, was rarely fazed no matter what the academy threw at them. No matter how intimidating the exam.

 _It just felt very familiar_ , Graham had said, after sabotaging Dr. Bellum's prototype on instinct alone. _You ever get déjà vu?_

Was _she_ déjà vu? Unremembered but somehow comfortable, provoking a muscle-reflex of familiarity without any rational explanation—and he had been so _very_ quick with that date, before even knowing her name. Then Auckland, and taking down Trip Wire, and maybe working together was all the nudge he needed to slip back into their old camaraderie. Player would probably caution against seeing only what she wants to. Yet the idea makes sense the same way Shadow- _san_ 's answers did in Poitiers, and the hacker had been skeptical then too.

Ultimately it came down to trust. Of her instincts, of Graham's honesty. That he was who he said he was. And she does—she does trust.

"I'm convinced he has zero memory of V.I.L.E."

-/-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said: angst. Flirting. Shadow- _san_ not having any kind of a good time. ;) Enjoy.
> 
> "Our midnight calls to room service" from the Dubai caper was too tempting to pass up. Nor could I really buy Player OR Shadow- _san_ tapping Gray for the team if either one knew he'd tried to kill Carmen. Player, however, would absolutely troll someone (Shadow- _san_ ) if he thought they deserved it (also Shadow- _san_ ; my boy is chill as they come but he does hold a grudge) but would never set Zack up to be collateral damage. If Zack were an equal participant, however... 
> 
> And does anybody know the old joke about how silence is golden, unless you have a toddler, and then silence is _suspicious_? Shadow- _san_ knows it. Shadow- _san_ is living it. Twenty years of teaching twenty-somethings he could actually intimidate did not prepare him for this, darn it! Ninja-man still resisting affection, news at eleven. Also, I did not get a flirting vibe from Gray during the end café scene despite it coming through loud and clear before then, so I tried to write something explaining the shift. We'll see if it succeeded. 
> 
> ~~Hoo boy, next up is Stockholm. I don't think any of us were ready for Stockholm.~~ As it turns out, I forgot I was indeed not ready for Stockholm. Next chapter is pure San Diego.


	7. Interlude: San Diego

When Carmen lands in San Diego, she walks off the plane resolved to tackle Shadow- _san_ 's silence head-on. This was the man who tried to give her his sword, after all, intent on springing Dokuso's trap and believing Carmen would stand aside to let him. Which—technically she did, but not in the way he imagined. Not without a plan that included Shadow- _san_ walking back out afterwards. Looking after each other was still part of being Team Red; that meant accepting help as much as giving it. Perhaps he only needed a reminder not every problem must be solved alone.

Unfortunately, the ninja also seems intent on practicing his disappearing act. He picks up the crew at the airport but Carmen can count on one hand the number of times she sees Shadow- _san_ after that. Always in company as well—at supper, which they all take turns making, or when Player calls with rumours of a non-hard-drive V.I.L.E. scheme in progress—where she can hardly broach the subject discreetly. Carmen can't even corner him during their one-on-one sparring sessions because suddenly the twins are there too. _It is important to practice against different opponents_ , so Shadow- _san_ says. Zack and Ivy are less than thrilled about waking up an hour earlier.

But the thief isn't eight years old anymore, too naïve to be more than confused by the sudden, inexplicable transformation of indulgent storyteller into cold and forbidding V.I.L.E. instructor. Nor is there a constant parade of tutors to busy and distract and otherwise occupy her. This time, Carmen has caught on to him—even if she can't catch him—and knowing Shadow- _san_ is avoiding her feels like walking on a loose joist.

Unsteady. Unstable.  
If he would just _talk_ to her–

She deliberately stays up the night of Player's report. Wanders down to the kitchen, shortly after twelve. Doesn't stare at the kettle. Finds her eyes drawn to a certain cupboard instead as vague notions of water balloons drift through her brain. Ivy had mentioned the ninja volunteered to manage their makeshift _dojo_. The room's floor was always swept, equipment in perfect order, even if Carmen never spotted him cleaning. She could rig something with the door though. Delay Zack and Ivy before training one morning, let the ninjago first, watch the balloon drop as he walked through. The look on his face would be _priceless_. Shadow- _san_ couldn't possibly ignore her th–

No. He wouldn't ignore her. He'd just look at Carmen like she was still a troublesome eight-year-old, pulling pranks and ruining Cookie Booker's once-a-year entrance.

_Playing games? Typical._

As if hit with her own dose of ice water, the thief is abruptly sure she never wants Shadow- _san_ to look at her that way again.

The clock hits one. The kettle remains unboiled. A heaviness sits like stones in her belly.

She goes back to her room. Team Red had a V.I.L.E. plot to foil and Player's rumours weren't going to run themselves down.

-/-

Next morning Carmen begs off practice claiming she's too burnt-out after chasing leads on the dark web all night. The excuse is true enough, and she has the bags to prove it, but the thief has gone longer on less. Perhaps because she concedes so rarely is why Shadow- _san_ lets her get away with it.

Carmen thinks it must be her imagination that he won't meet her eyes. The ninja might regret many things but he's only ever felt guilty about one—and that had little to do with her. Maybe he is worrying about his brother. Maybe it's Hideo's birthday, or some other date important to both of them that she knows nothing about. Player could probably dig around for an answer but Carmen doesn't feel like asking. She tries to remember Shadow- _san_ has no obligation to tell her such things. Some might even consider it selfish to expect that he'll show up simply because she does. Or—not _expect_ , exactly. Something a little less than that.

The thief goes back to her room and sleeps almost two hours. Then she wakes, stares at the ceiling, considers a snack, and turns her computer back on to diligently plug away. Less than twenty minutes later the screen goes black despite Carmen being mid-keystroke. She instantly hits speed-dial on her phone. The other end picks up before the first ring even finishes.

"Player," says Carmen, exasperated.

" _Red,_ " he shoots back in the exact same tone.

They stare at each other for a moment. "You put my laptop to sleep," she accuses.

" _You said you were going to sleep._ " His expression is uncompromising.

"You've been hanging out on my comm again. And I did sleep."

" _For what, an hour?_ "

"Two." _Or close enough_ , so Carmen keeps to herself.

" _After being up all night doing grunt work. Which—thanks, by the way, nice surprise to wake up to this morning, but you haven't pulled anything like that in ages. What gives, Red?_ "

"Nothing gives. Couldn't sleep."

The hacker eyes her carefully. " _Uh-huh. This 'nothing' go around in_ hakama _and a_ nagagi _?_ "

She huffs, realizing too late exactly who it echoed. "He barely wears those anymore, you know. Just for sparring, or around the warehouse. And _I_ threw off my sleep schedule staying up until I couldn't fall asleep. That's hardly Shadow- _san_ 's fault."

Her choice, to push.

Now Player raises an eyebrow at her. " _Really. You know, you told me you were gonna go on that date as a friends-being-friends thing, and that Gray seemed to agree, but you still haven't told me what Shadow-_ san _said when you asked him for advice._ "

Carmen shrugs. "He said I should go for it."

" _Re-ed._ "

The thief rolls her eyes. "He said I cared about Gray, as more than a brother once. He asked if seeing him would… would make me _happy_. And when I said I didn't know, he said maybe I should try and find out."

Player goes quiet. " _Oh,_ " he finally says.

"Oh?"

He gives his own shrug. " _It's—good advice. Kinda hoping for more flailing, that's all._ "

This time it's Carmen's turn to be doubtful. "Uh-huh."

" _And 'not his fault' doesn't mean he's not involved. What's he done this time, Red?_ "

"He hasn't done anything," she protests. "I've never slept well, Player, you know that."

" _But you were sleeping better. Best I've noticed since you left the island._ "

"That's not–" but the thief stops, and blushes, because while she hasn't not-told Player about Shadow- _san_ and midnight tea, she hasn't made an effort _to_ tell him either. "I got—used to something," she explains lamely. "Something that helped. Maybe—maybe more used to it than was… fair. To other people."

Player coughs. " _This, ah… this something wouldn't happen to involve… talking? Late at night?_ "

Carmen levels a knowing look at him. "Checking in on me, Player?" They'd had their discussion about privacy long ago and she had absolute faith in the hacker's discretion—as far as Carmen herself was concerned. She did have to talk him out of a few of his own pranks when it came to those not firmly on Team Red. Or new to Team Red.

" _Not long enough to hear anything, Red,_ " he promises, " _and I couldn't've understood anyone but you anyway. Ivy's last upgrade traded audio range for a signal boost, remember? So you wouldn't cut out underground like you did in Rio._ " Then the teen's gaze wavers, the corner of his monitor inexplicably fascinating. " _Just making sure you were, y'know. Breathing._ "

 _I didn't have any visuals…  
_Some wounds couldn't help leaving scars.

"You know I don't mind, Player," she answers gently. "Just let me know when you're on."

" _Yeah._ " He draws in a sigh. " _So you hang out with Shadow-_ san _, and you sleep almost like a normal person–_ "

"Says the hacker in his cave."

He ignores her and continues, " _–and then suddenly one of those things changes. Begs the question, Red._ "

"It's not like that," insists the thief. "We haven't had a fight. We're not fighting!"

" _So is this what a not-fight looks like? Or is it that you'd_ rather _be fighting?_ "

She groans. "Player, just—just leave it, okay? I'm not fighting with Shadow- _san_ , I'm not not-fighting with Shadow- _san_ , everything is in fact perfectly normal because hotels have terrible soundproofing and at least now he can get some sleep even when I'm having trouble. Which is also perfectly normal, so there's really no point in even _talking_ about it."

Now Carmen is the one who can't meet the other's eyes.

" _Okay, Red,_ " Player yields. His voice is soft and only makes her feel even more miserable. " _But you'll tell me if there's something I can do, right? Even just talking._ "

The thief nods minutely.

" _And I'm still not unlocking the laptop for another two hours._ "

"You think I won't use the huge creepy people-emojis…" Not her most creative threat but Player really does hate those things.

He smirks. " _You can try. I deleted them off your phone again before you left Sydney. C'mon, Red, even just lying down? Two hours._ "

Her shoulders sag. "Two hours," she agrees. "And I get my emojis back."

His eyes narrow mock-warily. " _I should not be handing you weapons to use against me—but okay. Nap tight, Red._ "

"Catch you in a bit, Player." Carmen obediently settles back into bed before cutting the call.

-/-

She really does try. But at the forty-five-minute mark, it's clear that sleep is thoroughly not happening. So Carmen gets up. The thief doesn't bother with her phone; Player would catch that even quicker than he did the laptop. But if research is out, she must find _something_ to do.

Ivy was always tinkering with a new toy and wanting Carmen to give it a trial run. Zack was always up for a little action, especially if it involved loud music, going really fast, and no fish. Nor had the thief seen any more of San Diego in living there than she would have on a caper. First Dubai pulled her away, then Moscow, then Auckland barely a day later. This break would be Carmen's first chance to truly explore the city that is her… home. For now.

The concept still rubs like breaking in a new stealthsuit. As fine as the warehouse is, it isn't _hers_. Not the way it is Ivy's, with her workshop, or Zack's, who could fit in anywhere. Or even Shadow- _san_ 's, given his apparent shouldering of their gym. There was no part of the building that belonged to Carmen any more than the blandest hotel room. As the thief preferred, of course, nothing holding her save her own willingness to stay. But it also means she has nowhere to go when feeling too restless to beta-test, too peevish to be good company, and too tired to wander about.

Idly Carmen thinks of the roof. By now even San Diego's weak winter sunlight would have soaked into the bitumen and warmed it to the touch. She could stretch out, watch the clouds, get away from the four walls of her room. Easy enough to find, if Zack or Ivy needed her. Shadow- _san_ had no reason to tell them otherwise this time.

_Shadow-san…_

She is so _tired_ of dancing around him. Politeness aside, privacy aside, it isn't her nature to sidestep obstacles any more than it is the ninja's to waste time on niceties. Carmen knows she had a reason for not forcing the issue but that logic gets thinner every time she looks at it. Why _shouldn't_ she confront him? Why shouldn't she march right up to his door and _demand_ an answer the same way she did after he cheated on that coat test, or on the bell tower in Poitiers?

_Why not indeed._

The idea only grows more attractive the longer it sits. Enough thinking herself into knots; knock on his door, _make_ him talk to her, and then maybe the ninja would go back to being normal grumpy Shadow- _san_ instead of this cool and distant stranger. She rolls to her feet. Purpose sharpening her step, Carmen strides down the hallway. All four bedrooms are on the warehouse's uppermost level and the thief doesn't stop until she stands in front of Shadow- _san_ 's. Briskly she knocks—because if he isn't there, she'll go to the _dojo_ , recruit the twins, whatever it takes–

–except none of that is necessary because Shadow- _san_ opens the door.

His room smells of pine floor soap and the artificial lemon of their industrial-brand window cleaner. The ninja stands on the other side of the threshold looking almost as surprised to see her as she is to find him. And so quickly, no less. He blinks once before his face goes absolutely blank. Then Carmen realizes—maybe she should have thought just a little longer.

Her hair is a mess. More so than usual. She is still in her pajamas, the Wonder Woman ones Zack convinced her to buy to match his Flash and Ivy's Superman. She's _not wearing a bra_. The thief resists the urge to cross arms over her chest but feels her once-fierce conviction slowly drain away. At least he's not in _wafuku_ ; that would make her humiliation complete. Showing up at his door dressed like she's twelve, driven by some half-baked plan to provoke him into explanation, immature, _impetuous–_

_I demand expulsion!_

_An act_ , Carmen reminds herself _. Only an act_.

V.I.L.E. taught that the best acts were based on truth. The stones in her belly fill her throat too.

"Yes?" says Shadow- _san_ finally. His T-shirt and sweatpants are smudged with dust but his eyes are as severe as if he were still standing over a reckless student and the friends she'd tangled into her own stupid prank. Nothing like the rueful apology they held after she burned her tongue that first midnight, his warning coming one sip too late.

"Tea!" blurts Carmen. Grasping at the word like a lifeline, she improvises madly. "There's a–a tea shop. I wanted to, ah. Try. I thought you—might like to go? With me?" Her voice keeps drifting upwards, she'd have utterly failed Lying 101, but thank the stars Countess Cleo taught that class and _not Shadow-san_.

"Now?" is all he asks.

"Oh. No. You're, uh, meditating now, right?" Reading? Cleaning? Knitting, for all Carmen knows—and it stings to accept that really she wouldn't.

He dips his head, not quite a yes or a no.

"I was thinking… tomorrow?"

This time she gets a clear nod. "Very well," he agrees. "Tomorrow."

Silence hangs between them, low and uncomfortable. She hasn't felt this _awkward_ with him since– since–

 _Since the beach in Rio_ , thinks Carmen suddenly. Since their first conversation as equals.

The thief fidgets a little, no longer sure even how to leave. "Well, uh. Bye? I'll see you tomorrow–" a phrase she regrets the instant it drops from her mouth because _see you tomorrow? see you tomorrow?!_ She'll see him _tonight_ , it's Ivy's turn to cook, unless Carmen pulls her own disappearing act, an option becoming more tempting by the second–

Carmen imagines shaking herself by her own coat. Hard.

_Just GO already._

Good thieves did not stay at-large thieves without a keen sense of when to withdraw. She sketches a wave, doesn't look to see how he takes it. She _goes_. If her abrupt departure draws him into the hall, Carmen doesn't hear it. Then again, why would she? This was Shadow- _san_ , master of stealth, professional ghost. Squeaky floors probably silenced themselves when he walked by. Besides, she now has twenty-four hours to find the best tea store in San Diego that the ninjawouldn't already know.

Player might let her back on the computer early for that one.

-/-

The place she chooses is a little shop in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. The reviews are middling but the pictures look good, shelves crowded with hand-labeled canisters. Carmen spends nearly two minutes in the store before realizing it's a drug front—which is two minutes more than her companion required, his quizzical look at her when they walked in making sudden sense. Her cheeks are already burning as they leave, the thief falling into a pace just shy of full retreat. Shadow- _san_ matches her step easily.

"May I ask where you heard about this tea shop?" He doesn't sound the least bit out of breath, damn his longer legs. He, in fact, sounds _amused_.

Glancing up confirms it. The corner of his mouth has lifted the same way it did upon witnessing V.I.L.E.'s dragon transform into a bath-toy lookalike. Carmen feels the blood in her face flame higher and walks even faster. Shadow- _san_ catches her arm, wrapping it over his own in a way that draws her to his side and forces her to either slow down or pull away.

She doesn't pull away. He sets their speed at a stroll and Carmen allows herself to sightsee as long as it does not entail turning her head anywhere near her walking partner. After a few blocks, Shadow- _san_ speaks again. "V.I.L.E. is not the only evil in the world. Merely better organized, and with greater reach than most. If you wish, there are other battles we can fight."

Carmen lets out a sigh. "I know," she admits, leaning absently into his warmth. The ninja feels wonderfully solid. His gait hitches for a moment. "My first few months travelling were almost as educational as all those years growing up on V.I.L.E. Island. But we're already spread so thin, and V.I.L.E. is the evil we know best. We have to stay focused."

"I think that is very wise," says Shadow- _san_ mildly, and Carmen dares look at him for the first time since leaving that awful store. He is no longer smiling but his eyes are warm with pride—and affection. Perhaps it's how close she is, tucked against his arm so their hips can almost brush. Perhaps his recent distance has sharpened her attention. Whatever it is, Carmen's stomach flops _hard_ as something shifts in her like a kaleidoscope.

_Oh._

So this was why she couldn't stand him pulling away.

_Oh._

So this was why she couldn't see herself falling for Graham. It wasn't just the shadow of that crackle-rod, it was _Shadow-_ san, inadvertently taking up her heart. Always on her side, even when Carmen didn't know it, stubborn and kind and _there_ –

"I guarantee you," he's promising, and the thief looks around wildly, trying to capture the thread she's lost, "this one sells only tea." Her gaze lights on the store Shadow- _san_ is directing them to— _another_ tea shop.

Carmen doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. She settles on a weak smile.

"Carmen," he pauses. "I did not– We do not have to go in. There are other stores–"

"No, no," she shakes her head, glad for an excuse not to meet his eyes. "It's fine. Really. I'm just—embarrassed, that's all. It's silly." _A silly, juvenile crush._ Carmen senses Shadow- _san_ 's careful scrutiny and hopes her skin hides some of the flush. She could not bear the understanding on his face if he figured her out, or his tact as he deflected such feelings aside.

"Zack is often silly," the ninja slowly replies, "and sometimes Ivy. Even Player on occasion. You, for all you indulge them, are very rarely so. I learned how to identify stores with criminal ties in the _yakuza_ , not V.I.L.E. Would you like me to show you?"

"Yes," answers Carmen gratefully, seizing on the alternative. " _Please_." She spends the rest of that sunny afternoon touring San Diego from the Gaslamp Quarter down to Little Italy, fixedly conscious of his presence at her side as Shadow- _san_ takes her through the finer points of shell storefronts.

-/-

Player calls with an update late the next day. Although still unknown, this newest target isn't shaping up to be anything like the gems or art or precious metals that are V.I.L.E.'s usual prey. Instead, it sounds like there are people at stake. Lots of people. He sends them what he's gathered so far and Carmen finds herself bypassing her room for the roof instead. There the thief paces, running through possibilities like corridors in a maze. She's at the point of heading downstairs to the gym's heavy bag just to hit something other than dead-ends when Shadow- _san_ appears from the corner of her eye.

Carmen can't help beaming at him. He hasn't brought tea, but neither is it midnight, or the kitchen. What matters is that he's shown up. The ninja blinks at her delight; hastily Carmen tones down the grin. Still, there's no erasing her satisfaction at feeling the gap between them close. She can endure yesterday's flustering new awareness—and the still-fresh chagrin—if it means having his companionship again.

Shadow- _san_ coughs. "Zack has made supper. I suspect it will be most edible now, while hot, rather than reheated later."

 _Unsteady. Unstable._ That wobbly joist, threatening to dump her into thin air.

He is only here to call her to eat.

"…oh," says Carmen. "I'll be right down." Shadow- _san_ holds the door but facing the inevitable chaos downstairs is—a little beyond her right now. The thief turns her face into the setting sun and pretends not to see.

She can't pretend not to hear the latch click as he leaves. _Impetuous_ , Carmen repeats to herself. _Immature._ Irrational to feel so disappointed when this can't even truly be considered a setback. She hasn't _lost_ anything. They are just—still—exactly where they were before she knocked on his door.

It was only a silly crush.

-/-

After another night of troubled sleep, the thief pulls herself together in an effort to regroup. Her first attempt was—flawed, to put it politely. But even a secret international criminal empire had yet to stop her when Carmen really put her mind to something and the principle was sound: Shadow- _san_ accepted her invitation. All she has to do is ask again. Theoretically, a task much easier than breaking out of V.I.L.E. headquarters twice in one year.

Theoretically.

Practically speaking, she needs a cover story. Some purpose that would take time, some drive that could carry Carmen further than sleeplessness and pique because _to spend time with you_ was an answer that cut too deeply to ever say out loud. And Shadow- _san_ would ask, eventually, if she kept dragging him to store after store without a single purchase of her own.

At least this time no one has to tell her she's making a fool of herself. Shadow- _san_ is handsome, thoughtful, and around, that's all. And sweet. And noble. Funny, in his understated way, with shoulders the thief wants to touch and a way of wearing chinos that made men and women alike take a second look on the street. Honest in questioning Carmen's plans but never _Carmen_ , looking after her crew as much as she does without ever needing to be asked, reminding Ivy to eat and Zack to sleep—

She picked that disastrous first shop half-thinking of his nameless midnight tea; identifying it was as good a goal as any. Carmen takes a deep breath, girds her figurative loins, and sets out to knock on a door.

-/-

San Diego holds a surprising number of tea stores. Extra addresses appear among those from her phone's map-search, a help Player will neither confirm nor deny, and Carmen tries not to think about how well the hacker knows her after almost four years of being each other's number-one speed dial. His additions always end up being the most interesting, locals-only, holes-in-a-wall of the list too. She still checks for signs of extra-judicial income before she brings Shadow _-san._ As for the ninja, he must consider his vanishing act suitably polished because now Carmen actually sees him in passing outside of meals and training. Not that their mornings change back—the twins are still grumbling about getting up earlier—but only a few times does she have to nerve herself up to knock on his door for lack of other options. Whatever store she proposes, Shadow- _san_ invariably accepts.

He never asks why her sudden interest. They only talk about the window displays they pass, or the weather, or picking up groceries on their way back. Carmen, still a coffee drinker to the bone, gives every tiny package she buys to Ivy. None quite match his tin in the cupboard anyway. The thief thinks about taking a spoonful—just for reference, just to smell, because it's not like sleep has suddenly become easy for her—but she knows he would know, and then how would Carmen explain?

One of the stores Player adds to the list is run by a woman about Shadow- _san_ 's age. She is lovely, greeting them in Japanese, moving like a dancer behind the counter as she pours them both tea from a small side-handled pot. They've barely been in the store five minutes before she and Shadow- _san_ leave all English behind. Carmen doesn't think they even notice. The words flow too quickly for the thief to understand more than one in ten but her fluency hardly matters. Shadow- _san_ and the shop owner keep the conversation going all by themselves. Carmen slowly edges away to poke at the cups and strainers displayed around the store. She keeps her back to them; she doesn't need to watch.

The woman laughs. Shadow- _san_ chuckles too, a beat later. Carmen shoves her hands in her pockets where they can't betray her by doing something stupid like rubbing at her chest or trembling.

This was expected, or should have been. Eventually Shadow- _san_ had to meet an elegant, sophisticated, _adult_ woman who wasn't part of V.I.L.E. and gave every indication of enjoying his company. Because why shouldn't she? The ninja was ( _kind, handsome, funny, noble_ ) very attractive. Anyone worth catching Shadow- _san_ 's eye would see through his stern demeanor and notice that. Not to mention he _deserved_ someone who saw it, someone he could take for a date, for dinner–

Someone who had never been a child or student to him. Someone not like—Black Sheep. The sooner Carmen accepted that, the sooner her absurdity would pass. And it _hurt_ to listen to what must be Shadow- _san_ flirting.

 _Just a crush_ , the thief reminds herself. _A simple, silly little crush._

Finally Carmen hears the cash register ding, a much-anticipated signal that this trip would soon be over. She summons up her best Countess-Cleo-party-face and turns around just in time to see the shop owner slip what looks to be a phone number in with the receipt for Shadow- _san_ 's bag, still chatting with the ninja over the till. He doesn't look like he noticed but Carmen doesn't trust herself to tell. Shadow- _san_ walks out ahead and only as he holds the door does he seem to remember her presence. "Ah, Carmen," he says, a faint air of surprise in his voice. "You did not buy anything."

"Oh," the thief waves off as breezily as she can manage, "there wasn't anything I really liked."

He slows. Feeling his gaze fall on her, Carmen has a dark suspicion she needs to work harder on 'breeze'.

" _Is_ there a tea you are looking for? Perhaps I can assist."

And she wishes he hadn't asked, wishes he'd gone right on ignoring her. Because what could Carmen say?

 _Jetlag plays merry hell with my insomnia, Shadow-_ san _, and your stupid hot leaf juice was helping._

Or,

_I'm seriously considering breaking into a tea tin because at this point that might be easier than asking you what's in it._

Or just,

 _It's not the tea, Shadow-_ san _. It's never been about tea._

"Nothing in particular," she says, and laughs.

-/-

The next morning brings Player pulling some major online wizardry to hack the encryptions around V.I.L.E.'s worrying—and still worryingly vague—latest objective. He gets far enough to discover time and place for a hand-off: soon and Stockholm. Normally Carmen would chafe at knowing so little but for once she doesn't mind. A more impromptu caper simply required more attention and she could use the focus on something other than–

Well, Carmen never was a vacation person. She didn't do well with too much downtime. Then Player breaks the real bad news.

" _We may have a problem,_ " he announces to the crew. " _G_ _etting out of V.I.L.E.'s communication network was a little trickier than going in, especially because they couldn't know that now we know where they're going to be. They_ don't _know I was there but whoever V.I.L.E. had design those firewalls is good enough to keep me on my toes. A.C.M.E., on the other hand_ _… They got lucky._ _One of the bots they send out every so often to track down Team Red's hacker picked up my exit from the data stream and tried to tag me."_

"Player," says Carmen quietly. His eyes meet hers without a flicker of doubt.

" _The capers we've pulled, Red, you had to have a hacker. But no one knows it's me and no one's going to catch me either. I've still got the El-ahrairah program if it ever comes to that._ "

"Ella-what?" asks Zack, sounding confused.

"El-ahrairah," the thief corrects. "A character from a book Player likes."

" _Digger, listener, runner,_ " quotes Player.

"Prince with the swift warning," Carmen finishes, tiny smile breaking through. He'd mailed her a physical copy shortly after she escaped V.I.L.E. Island, then sent the sequel while she was recovering from Brunt's attack.

 _All the world will be your enemy and whenever they catch you, they will kill you._ _But first they must catch you._

"It's his emergency exit," she explains. "It'll fry his equipment, but also wipes out all traces that could lead back to his identity or physical location."

" _And it'll fry whatever system they're using too now,_ " Player adds. " _I took a peek at Dr. Bellum's code for Trip Wire before we scrubbed it. Can't turn someone else's computer into an EMP generator on software alone, but it's the next best thing. No, Red, it's not me I'm worried about. It's you. If that bot managed to copy any of the info I snuck out of V.I.L.E.,_ _you might be looking at company in Sweden._ "

Then he grins a little. " _That is, if they can pry it away from the lonely Russian bait account it's now following, who just so happens to live in their city and would love to meet them tonight._ "

"Let's not taunt the super secret police organization," Carmen reminds, trying not to grin herself. Player's sense of humour didn't need the encouragement. "They might be after V.I.L.E. like Devineaux told Shadow _-san,_ but they've been pretty set on chasing me too. Even—especially—after Poitiers. Gotta face it, Player, running into Jules in Milan was a lucky break. Otherwise A.C.M.E.'s agents seem more interested in handcuffing than hearing me out."

" _We need all the luck we can get, Red, because there's another thing. I put out a few ears since I was in V.I.L.E.'s network anyway._ _Turns out Stockholm's not the only new op going down soon._ _Remember that rice fungus outside Jakarta?_ "

Carmen winces, partly because she still remembers how bad V.I.L.E.'s imitation rice was and partly because Tigress's last jab with that stilt left her belly sore for days. But with both redheads crowded around her, she can also see Ivy's grimace on the webcam's self-view. Certainly the mechanic was even less fond of heights after dangling from an open trailer door over the side of a mountain. Zack's eyes are on his sister as well; he'd watched her cling to that handle. Only his quick driving saved her from a long fall. 

Shadow- _san_ stands too far back for the camera to catch but his presence is a slow-building tension between her shoulder blades.

"Yup," is all she says.

" _Well, looks like Dr. Bellum started growing some again. Except this time, instead of Indonesia, she's got her sights set on Malaysia._ _T_ _he northern part of the peninsula is one of the country's biggest rice producers and they have a huge festival due to kick off soon—food, performers, the whole shebang. Emphasis on 'bang'. You'll never get from Stockholm to Alor Setar before V.I.L.E. subs in its own firework display. Unless…_ " The hacker's eyes lift over her head.

"Unless we divide and conquer," Carmen finishes. She twists to follow Player's gaze, determinedly summoning up a smile. "Then it _is_ lucky we're a person up from the last time V.I.L.E. tried this game. What do you say, Shadow- _san_?"

He nods once, speaking for the first time that meeting. "I am happy to take Malaysia. If you will send me what you have so far, Player, we can review once you are finished briefing Carmen. How soon do I leave?"

" _Today, Shadow-_ san _. For both of you._ " Her friend skims a glance at her, something almost apologetic in his eyes, but the thief only feels relieved. Continents and time zones were a familiar kind of distance. And with Shadow- _san_ on his own mission, both her heart and the slip of paper waiting in his bag could be put aside. At least for a little while. Weary from more than lack of sleep, Carmen looks forward to leaving San Diego behind.

-/-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.”
> 
> ― Richard Adams, _Watership Down_
> 
> I've never actually read Watership Down but I figured Player might have - and might have seen something worth sharing in the journey of a kind, clever hero who left one oppressive environment, fought back against another, and relied on the advice of his far-seeing younger brother. There should also be consequences to Shadow- _san_ 's behaviour prior to Poitiers. He was... pretty mean, even if Carmen forgave him for it. Like with Gray, forgiving doesn't always mean forgetting. 
> 
> The place Shadow- _san_ brings Carmen to in Poitiers looks to be the bell tower of Église Notre-Dame la Grande. I have no idea how many tea shops are in San Diego, or if any are drug fronts. Everything Player does is completely made-up but the show is also suspiciously vague there so I feel I'm in good company. The Apple half-body emojis _are_ creepy. I saw Shadow- _san_ 's room in S2E10 but what I did not see was an door, unless it's sliding. But he needs one. For reasons. Other then that... angst angst baby? No one's having fun except me. 
> 
> _dojo_ : training hall, especially for martial arts  
>  El-ahrairah: trickster god-hero of the rabbits in Watership Down. Sometimes over-proud, but generally clever enough to get himself out of trouble anyway. In many ways, Bugs Bunny would be a worthy successor.
> 
> Next up (for realsies this time) is Stockholm. One might be able to argue that it is in fact _less_ painful than this chapter.


	8. Stockholm

Carmen sits against a tree, wrapped up in what was left of her hang glider, and shivers. Her comm is in pieces. She can't feel her toes. Her ribs hurt if she breathes too deep and following any kind of movement with her eyes threatens to turn her stomach inside out. The last could be merely a side effect of the gas that blonde agent got her with. Or it could be a concussion. Either way, the thief knows she's in bad shape.

And night has fallen.

Ivy's adjustments over the months since Rio made Carmen's comm powerful enough to reach Player even through layers of rock—but the price, as the hacker had noted, was sensitivity. _And_ moving the GPS tracker to her other earring, which survived the crash far better than its fellow. Still, hours have passed without even a hint of Boston accents scaring half the forest. That doesn't bode well. Carmen hopes it's just the storm jamming her signal. The alternative, the one she doesn't want to think about, is that her crew isn't looking at all—because they _can't_.

If A.C.M.E. got the drop on her, there's a distinct possibility they took Ivy as well. Or Zack, or both of them, her stalwart redheads too brave for their own good. Or worse, that taking the risk of reaching out to Julia had been entirely in vain because V.I.L.E. was already aware of A.C.M.E.'s presence. Then their local operatives would be on high alert for any interference, including that of a certain red-coated superthief. And what had Carmen done? Sent someone fitting that exact description to wander the streets of Stockholm. Other possibilities jostle half-formed in her mind, circling on Player's intel that lives were at stake; none are comforting.

Her limbs are too numb to try climbing again. She cannot expect rescue. There is—Carmen curls in tighter, and not from the cold—there is the distinct possibility she won't make it out of this one.

Against the gathering dark, Julia's pen blinks from the snowbank.

Player also said, _just stay alive_. And, _please_.

_Fun choices indeed._

The thief stands. Her legs stumble more than walk but they cover the distance. She picks up the pen, takes a shallow breath—and pushes the button.

-/-

'Happy' doesn't quite describe how Carmen feels when she sees Ivy and Zack standing on the other side of that fence. She nearly cries, even in front of the hologram and her suits.

Player found her. In a frozen Swedish wilderness, comm smashed, alone—Player found her.

"Consider it a gesture of goodwill," says the Chief, "from a valuable ally."

Carmen doesn't particularly care. She wants her coat, her crew, wants _away_ from these trigger-happy agents and the bars ready to close in behind those cool faces. Their leader's sincerity is the only thing that interests her right now.

"Friends," answers the thief as clearly as she can. She holds up the pickpocketed pen.

A gesture for a gesture: _play nice and so will I_.

"Keep it," Chief replies. "You never know when you may need to reach me."

Sagging back against the litter, Carmen's gaze catches on a familiar agent. Julia stands far enough to one side to have escaped notice until now. Shame and unhappiness shadow her face, as clear as her shock had been when their clocktower chat turned into an ambush. Yet working out how intentionally Jules led her into a trap is beyond Carmen at present. She closes her eyes.

Once shut, opening them again becomes an uphill battle. Carmen tries anyway as Zack takes the van straight for Stockholm. "N-no hospital," the thief insists, struggling to push words through lips still thick with cold. "M-mission. V.I.L.E. operatives."

Player's intel. Lives at stake. Couldn't let V.I.L.E. _win_.

"It's okay, Carm," soothes Ivy. "All taken care of."

Confusion provides its own kind of spur. "What? By who?" _Shadow-san?_

But Malaysia, the rice fungus, he was needed there to–

The redhead laughs shakily. "By Carmen Sandiego—who else?"

Carmen is lost. "I d-don't. Understand," she manages, and drifts in and out to the tale of Ivy's debut as an international woman of mystery.

-/-

She sleeps through most of her brief hospital stay, restless but unable to surface past the heavy fog of morphine. Her dreams are jumbled and strange.

Ivy in a red coat. Zack in Player's hoodie. Gray, the old Gray, in trainee clothes with green sparks falling from his hands while a goat-masked Jean-Paul lounges on a branch above her and talks about bouldering in the Forêt de Fontainebleau. A bulky form steps through the open flap as the air in a Quito medical tent turns smothering, saying, "You need oxygen there, lambkins?"

Carmen thinks she remembers seeing Shadow- _san_ walk through the door but can't wake up enough to do more than smile. At some point the rub of plastic-on-plastic from the mattress underneath her changes to rattling wheels. It's the plane engine that finally rouses her, and the short fuzz of upholstery rough against her cheek.

"Player?" the thief murmurs, not opening her eyes. She'd learned to be careful about lights that could stab like knives.

"Not quite," says Zack's voice, unusually subdued. "But I can get him if you want. No problem at all."

"No… S'fine… Where…?"

"We're on our way home, Carm. Sunny San Diego. Just a few more hours, okay?"

"Mm," she sighs.

"Bro? Is she talking?" Carmen hears someone ask.

"A little," the teen answers. "She–she should have something to drink, right? Hey, Carm, you want something to drink?"

She winces vaguely. Her mouth is dry but her gut clenches at the idea of sitting up. The adjustable medical bed had been bad enough whenever it slowly levered her upwards to take some water through a straw or a few sips of soup. Attempting to sit up herself—once—had frozen the thief again, this time with pain, unable to even breathe as the ache gnawing on her ribs suddenly grew fangs.

Besides, anything she drank would eventually have to come out. Carmen prefers sleep over confronting the closet-sized airplane bathroom.

She turns her head away.

"Zack," she hears again, this time clearly Shadow- _san_. There are the quiet sounds of people moving around her. Deft gentle fingers brush the hair out of her face, coaxing her into turning back. "Carmen," says Shadow- _san_ , "you must drink."

A thin whine escapes her throat. He could keep petting her like that forever and Carmen wouldn't mind, but the thought of trying to sit up—of standing, or walking—makes her shrink into the seat cushions.

His hand shifts, cupping her face as his thumb strokes her cheek. "Please, Carmen."

She cracks her eyes open, staring at the ninja miserably. But there's pain in his face too, mixed with a desperate kind of worry, and as her gaze lifts to where Zack and Ivy crowd behind him, Carmen can see their faces are similarly drawn.

Her eyes close. "'Kay," she whispers defeatedly.

Shadow- _san_ catches her shoulder as she gathers herself for that first awful push. "Wait," he advises. "Let us help you."

They don't make Carmen sit up after all, only turn so she can use a straw. Zack holds it as her cold-bitten hands are still too sore to have any strength. Nor can she sustain the position long, pressure on her side threatening to sink teeth in, but the thief gets a full cup of water down. Shadow- _san_ then insists she take more pain medication. "No," Carmen tries to refuse, "the dreams– don't want–"

"It is only ibuprofen and tylenol. That is all we have. Please."

She folds like paper under the steady press of his concern.

When in due course Carmen must attend to the inevitable, somehow Ivy ends up being the closest to ask. She sees the glance the redhead shoots Shadow- _san_ , who discretely shepherds Zack to the other end of the plane, and is torn between letting them know she'd caught on to their quiet arrangement or simply thanking them. In the end the thief does neither, reckoning it kindest to let them believe she had no idea how hard they were working to preserve her dignity.

The trip to and from the little closet is as bad as Carmen feared. Merely standing makes her so dizzy she almost has to sit back down. Walking is like going another round with Coach Brunt. She woke in that forest with a swelling left ankle, one made worse by her aborted climb up the ravine wall. Even well-wrapped the bad sprain throbs and won't take her weight. Carmen has to limp, jarring her ribs, breath stuttering with every step. Ivy practically carries her on the way back.

The thief sinks down on the couch with something closer to exhaustion than relief. She falls asleep—or passes out—before Ivy can even help her swing her legs up. Although less vivid the disturbing dreams return, laced through with pain every time the aircraft hits a patch of turbulence.

-/-

Carmen doesn't remember landing in San Diego or the drive to their warehouse-headquarters. She wakes enough to recognize home only after Shadow- _san_ sets her down on one of the sofas in the common area. Sunlight streams through the broad windows and makes her wince, albeit not as badly as the hospital's fluorescents. The ninja doesn't let her slide back into sleep until she drinks a cup of broth and takes more pills.

When she wakes again, Ivy sits on the opposite couch flipping distractedly through an auto magazine. The teen looks up as soon as Carmen shifts, face brightening. "Carm! You're awake!"

Carmen smiles. Then her gaze lowers with a grimace. "Ivy, I have to…"

"I know. I gotcha, Carm."

It's another grueling trek to get to the main floor bathroom, more spacious but farther away than the airplane's closet. Carmen is wilting by the time they start the long shuffle back. 

"Later," the thief promises, leaning heavily into her friend as they walk. "Buying you. A drink. Many drinks."

Ivy snickers. "We're in the States, Carm. I'm not legal here yet."

She fingerwaves that detail away. "Player. ID. Or just. Go somewhere else."

"Sure, Carm. We'll make a girls' night of it."

"Sounds"—and she has to focus on breathing as a wave of light-headedness makes her vision swim—"fun. Never… been." Carmen sees the sofa almost within falling distance and fights her dragging feet to go just a few more steps. Ivy guides her down to half-sit, half-collapse against the red cushions.

The thief has only taken a few seconds to rest her eyes when she hears Shadow- _san_ 's voice. "Carmen? Are you awake?"

She opens them again to see him standing on the far side of the coffee table, holding a laptop with the lid raised. Her head lolls against the sofa back, too tired to sit straight, but she manages a smile. "'M awake. Really."

Ivy's voice is faintly audible bickering with Zack in the garage below, although how she got down there so fast Carmen isn't sure.

Shadow- _san_ studies her carefully. "If you are up for it, Player wanted to say hello."

Carmen reaches for the computer, struggling at the same time to pull herself a little more upright. "Hi, Player," she calls, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Like this was no more than ordinary downtime after an ordinary caper.

" _Hey, Red,_ " she hears as Shadow- _san_ comes around to set the laptop in front of her. The ninja then retreats to the kitchen, busying himself at the sink to give them at least the illusion of privacy. Carmen barely notices. Her attention is all on Player.

She can't remember talking to him since launching herself off that clocktower. That doesn't mean she hasn't; Ivy apparently had to repeat the story of her singlehanded caper several times in the hospital before V.I.L.E. stopped being Carmen's immediate question whenever she roused enough to speak. But the way his eyes are equally obvious in cataloguing her suggests that he hasn't seen Carmen either, at least not awake, since their usual last-minute mission review on the plane to Sweden.

"If you," she finally says, "try to beat yourself up, 'm gonna be mad. _Told_ you, do 'xactly what you did."

Player knew her priorities when it came to her crew, and V.I.L.E. Yet her best friend had stewed over Poitiers for _months_ while she never even realized. Carmen wasn't going to let that happen again.

" _I know, Red. But you can't make me like abandoning you._ "

"Didn't. Found me. Woulda been," and she blinks hard to fight off a yawn, "just fine."

" _Yeah. I guess._ " It's not the solid affirmation Carmen wants to hear but Player changes tack before she can push. " _If you're tired, Red, you know I really can call back later,_ " he reminds.

The thief shakes her head, remembering to keep it slow. "'M good, Player. Wanna hear… what's up." Her lids keep drooping but secret criminal empires did not go on vacation because the person dedicated to bringing them down was a little under the weather.

He folds his arms at her. The mulishly flat look on his face could've been taken from her own mirror when V.I.L.E. locked its sights on some particularly significant historical artifact. One she would then vow to protect at all costs. " _Nothing's up_. _At all. Except you taking it easy._ "

"Play-yer," she complains, but the couch is slowly sliding underneath her—or Carmen is sinking, muscles watery, bones filled with lead. Her eyes are so heavy. There's the distant buzz of a message alert from the kitchen as gravity inexorably pulls her down.

-/-

 _Red's out_ , the text reads. _Help?_ And a quick snap of Carmen asleep, slumped over in what looked to be a most uncomfortable position. Shadow- _san_ slips the phone back in his pocket and leaves the dishes for another time. Returning to the common area the ninja gently straightens her out, lifting Carmen's legs onto the sofa and tucking a blanket around her. She doesn't wake. He picks up the laptop, thinking to keep busy until she stirred or Zack was scheduled to replace him, only to see the hacker still onscreen. "Player," he greets in a low voice, mindful of Carmen so near. He notes the teen's troubled expression. "What is wrong?"

Player blinked. " _Oh. No, not—wrong, exactly. But I think I need to talk to you._ "

Shadow- _san_ moves to the free couch, settling the computer on his knees. "I am listening," the ninja says. He hears the twins coming up the stairs less rowdily than usual, Zack in particular having shown sudden improvement in his ability to move with only an ordinary amount of noise.

Player fidgets in his chair. " _I didn't tell Carmen, but there actually is something up._ " Eyes uneasily meeting Shadow- _san_ 's, he adds, " _I intercepted intel on a V.I.L.E. operation going down in Antwerp tonight. What would Red want us to do?_ "

The ninja's own gaze goes to Carmen. Still tired, still hurting, the flame in her having come so terribly close to blowing out.

The answer is obvious. "I will handle it."

-/-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To recap: Carmen likely spent at least two hours in the snow based on the change in lighting and time needed for Ivy to complete the caper/Zack to drive them to Carmen's location. Very possibly longer. Luckily winter in Stockholm is actually much milder than I expected, temps ranging from only -5 to 2 degrees Celsius on average. Injuries consistent with her fall (and what appeared to be a slight favouring of her left leg on close rewatch) that one could squeak by with after leaving AMA would be concussion, badly bruised/possibly cracked ribs, hypothermia (with tissue damage somewhere between frostnip and superficial frostbite), and a sprained ankle. DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME!!!
> 
> This chapter went through some very significant rearranging and ultimately ended up shorter than I intended, but I think the pacing needed it. The total chapter number also went up by one. These things may be related. ;)


	9. Interlude II: Antwerp (part one)

The visit with Player, brief as it is, seems to mark a turning point. Carmen still sleeps solidly through the night and well into each morning but stays awake for longer stretches in between. Her ankle starts to bear weight and she can sit up without wincing. Even her fingers are regaining their strength, soreness slowly fading into mere sensitivity. It heartens Carmen immensely the first time she manages to get all the way to the bathroom and back alone on her crutches. She is exhausted afterwards, and Ivy lectures her for not calling, yet neither diminish the sheer light-headed—at times literally—joy of moving under her own power.

The downside of Carmen proving her independence is that both Ivy and Zack stick even closer. They won't let her fetch her own water, let alone trek to and from her bed upstairs instead of sleeping on the couch. Originally she'd liked her room for being furthest from the elevator and its noise; now the thief wishes she'd been a little less prudent. Adding to her frustration, Player refuses to tell her anything about V.I.L.E. All her inquiries earn is his steadfast avowal that there's nothing for Carmen to do except focus on getting better. When she tries sneaking around him to check for herself, he locks out her laptop's dark web connection. There's no way to break what's sure to be at least a sixteen-character random cipher when the thief can't even look at a computer screen for more than half an hour without feeling a headache start behind her eyes.

Her not-quite-nightmares reappear every so often, mostly after staring at said screen trying to convince Player to give her more details until that headache comes on. She wakes unsettled from El Topo braying Antonio's donkey-laugh as he juggles water balloons in his claws or Julia taking her blonde partner's place as Carmen runs up the tower stairs, guilt-ridden eyes downcast even as her gun releases a metal-tasting cloud. Or Brunt, again, offering a cupcake in one hand and a matryoshka doll in the other.

Shadow- _san_ remains curiously absent. Player will only say he is handling something in Belgium, and while the hacker's redirections aren't quite ninja-smooth—yet—the unrevealing obstinacy to his face is familiar. Carmen grumbles over having encouraged him to spend so much time with the former V.I.L.E. instructor.

She knows her crew means well. That doesn't make their worry any less stifling, nor has her temper been as certain since Stockholm. Sometimes Carmen just wants to shake them and shout, _I'm fine! Just fine! So stop **looking** at me like I'm not! _The crash only left her a little battered, after all. A little bruised, a bit of a close call, but not broken. Not dead. Not even detained in a cell somewhere, although the warehouse did feel smaller with every passing day.

Carmen had long since realized how ignorant she'd been when she pushed the faculty to let an underaged Black Sheep enroll. Her bold boast of 'to the end of the line' echoed damningly through her head at finding Gray ready to kill in Casablanca. But she'd taken that slap, hard as it was; taken and learned from it. Staring through a vent, Booker's boat ready at the dock, Black Sheep knew— _Carmen_ knew—exactly what bringing the hard drive along would mean. Eventually the faculty might forgive a discreet exit, especially if she spent the rest of her life lying low somewhere far from their games. Stealing a prize as valuable as V.I.L.E.'s plans for an entire year, bloodying their noses on her way out? Never.

She did it anyway.

Morocco was the end of Black Sheep's line with V.I.L.E.; situations like Stockholm were always going to be a risk on Carmen's. That danger she accepted more than a year ago and nothing, not even facing Brunt in Poitiers, had changed her mind since. The thief only wishes her team would see things as rationally as she does.

Thankfully Shadow- _san_ returns before Carmen's patience frays too far. Delayed in Brussels almost a week, his business in Europe apparently more complicated than expected, the ninja arrives bearing chocolates he calls _omiage_. He explains the custom of bringing home local foods as souvenir-gifts before firmly shooing Zack and Ivy back to painting upstairs. Shadow- _san_ sits on the sofa opposite Carmen's and looks at her.

"I," she says crisply, before he can ask, "am _fine_. And if you ask if there's anything you can get me, I'm going to throw this chocolate bar right back at you."

The line of his mouth twitches up on one side. "You do sound better," he allows.

"I _am_ better."

His face smooths out. The ninja watches her gravely.

Carmen looks away. "I an getting better," she corrects, glaring at the high dining table that now supplemented their old kitchen workbench. "Something that could be going faster with a little less fussing."

She can still feel Shadow _-san_ 's eyes on her. "Consider, Carmen," he quietly suggests, "if Ivy had been in your place. Or Zack. Would you be so eager to see either push themselves after injury?" 

To her consternation the thief feels tears rising. "That is not the same," she insists, forcing her voice to stay clear. _Damn_ her mood swings, especially in front of Shadow- _san_!

"It is not so different either." Then his tone changes. "But I should let you rest."

He moves to stand and Carmen reflexively reaches out, impossible as it would be to catch him across the oversized coffee table. "Wait," she protests, "stay. Please?" Fumbling for a reason, the thief adds, "I've read all of Zack's comic books already and Ivy only has car magazines or technical manuals. I-I wouldn't mind some company. If you're not too tired."

Gone for days, distant for weeks before that, not even the option of going tea-shopping now—and she _misses_ him. All Carmen wants is to pretend for a little while that she wasn't actively breaking her heart on this foolish, hopeless crush.

Shadow- _san_ sinks back down. "O-of course. No, I'm not too– What would you like to talk about?"

"I've never been to Brussels," she offers. "And Player wouldn't tell me anything about what V.I.L.E.'s been up to."

"Player cares about you a great deal. He does not want you worrying over matters you cannot control." His mouth twitches again. "I learned quite well how much use that is—from you."

Intrigued, Carmen feels her own lips curl upwards. "From me?"

He nods. "From the moment you left V.I.L.E. Island, you would not do a single thing in any way I could predict. Eventually I gave up trying."

"Explaining how I crashed your party in Rio? You know, the one you left exactly zero indication you were taking?" she needles.

There's a quiet, disgruntled huff before he adds dryly, "Nor was I expecting you to follow me to Matsumoto."

"Or that Team Red was footloose enough to not even have a home base." Her grin widens. "So you're telling me that _I_ kept surprising _you_ for over a year with nothing more than three teens and a phone to my name?"

Shadow- _san_ grunts. "You say that like you've stopped."

She laughs out loud, absurdly pleased at the thought. Carmen Sandiego, confounding an unflappable ninja.

His mouth loosens into an actual smile. Carmen arches an eyebrow in bright challenge. "So about Brussels," she prompts.

He shrugs. "I do not think Player would mind now that the mission is complete. Following V.I.L.E.'s operative did take me to Brussels, but her original target was the Diamantkring in Antwerp."

Carmen leans into her couch as the story unfolds. Having Shadow- _san_ here, talking to her again, feels like finally stretching out after so much stiffness between them. Now sunlight warms the warehouse and his voice is unhurried and her eyes start to close without the thief even noticing. "Carmen?" she hears Shadow- _san_ ask softly.

"'M listening," she murmurs. "Diamonds. Driver undercover. Followin' her t'… t' somewhere?"

"To Brussels," he confirms. "A place that can wait."

"No, s'good… wanna know…"

Careful hands pull a blanket over her; fuzzily the thief realizes she must have slipped sideways at some point.

"Later," Shadow- _san_ promises. Delicate as butterfly wings, something tucks loose hair out of her face. She turns into it with a drowsy hum.

The touch freezes. "Ah, _Carmen_ ," he whispers, voice catching on her name.

But she is already asleep.

-/-

Carmen wakes in time for supper, something the ninja takes upon himself to make despite having only returned that day. Even a simple stir-fry is a welcome change from Ivy's variants on pasta with sauce or Zack's even more limited selection. Or take-out. She gets the rest of the caper details then, Shadow- _san_ repeating for the twins how he tailed Driver into the Antwerpsche Diamantkring, uplinking Player to the database she'd accessed so that the hacker could find out what V.I.L.E. wanted from an international rough diamond brokerage. Then he followed her to Brussels, where he'd foiled her attempt to replace the chauffeur of an important member of a global certification body created to document legally sourced diamonds and prevent conflict stones from entering the world market.

Zack and Ivy wash dishes as Carmen hitches the short distance back to the sofa on her crutches. Shadow- _san_ keeps pace beside her. He is at least more subtle about his concern, somehow making it look natural to be conveniently in a position to steady her through the process of sitting down.

 _Sneaky ninja_. Carmen is tempted to shoot him a look, just so he knows she's on to him. Instead she tugs on the hand still in hers.

He blinks at her.

"Sit," she invites. "I know exactly how big this couch is by now and it's more than enough for two."

Shadow- _san_ —hesitates. Almost awkwardly he settles on the sofa an arms-length away. The thief remembers to let go of his hand.

His weight dips the seat cushions, drawing her towards him. It would be so easy to just lean–

She deliberately hooks an elbow over the top of the sofa, resting both hands there and out of trouble. "V.I.L.E. does like shiny rocks," says Carmen lightly. "Think they're planning something involving diamonds? Raw ones too, it sounds like, over something cut and finished and stuck in a necklace Cleo fancies."

The ninja raises an eyebrow. "I think Player is working very hard to sort through the data gathered from this mission. When he knows more, he will tell us."

"You mean he'll tell _you_ ," she mutters.

He inclines his head, acknowledging the point. "Yes. And so we will manage while you recover."

Carmen lets out a vexed sigh. "I can do more than just sit here and sleep, Shadow- _san_."

"Yes. You can do too much, and lengthen the process instead." Shadow- _san_ 's voice turns very gentle. "Not every injury can be pushed through, Carmen. Some simply require time, and rest."

Then he yawns himself, looking surprised.

"Well _somebody_ needs a rest," Carmen teases, then frowns. "Wait. What is the time difference between Brussels and San Diego anyway?"

He coughs. "Only a few hours."

She does a quick calculation in her head and snorts. "More like nine! Have you even taken a nap since you got back?"

His silence is telling. _And_ he'd made supper, so Carmen scolds, "Shadow- _san_! Go to bed already! Before you fall over or I sic the twins on you."

The ninja smiles, but she can see him biting back another yawn. "Truly, a formidable threat."

"You haven't had Zack try to make you soup yet. Trust me, it's formidable."

Shadow- _san_ winces. "Zack made soup?"

"He tried."

"Ah. Perhaps we should take a break from training at some point in favour of other lessons."

" _After_ you sleep."

"Yes, Carmen," he says mildly—but those dark eyes hold an amused gleam and Carmen trusts that biddable façade about as far as she can throw the man.

She ends up shooting him the you-don't-fool- _me_ look after all, one that barely conceals her own smile as he pushes himself away. "Goodnight, Shadow- _san_."

"Goodnight, Carmen. I will see you tomorrow."

Carmen watches him head up the stairs, Zack and Ivy's chatter in the background a pleasant counterpoint to the sounds of dishes rattling and water running. The warehouse is full of life, yet peacefully so, and the only thing that could make it even more perfect would be—

On the coffee table in front of her, the open laptop wakes from slumber. A familiar face greets her cheerfully. " _Hey, Red. How's my favourite superthief doing today?_ "

He didn't call every night but it was close, especially if he hadn't texted earlier in the day. The time difference to Ontario meant just after supper in San Diego was about when Player nominally went to bed. At least being homeschooled gave him a little more flexibility that way, for which Carmen was grateful. He was still hoping to end up taller than her and sleep deprivation wouldn't help with that.

"Still getting better, Player. What's the homework for tonight?"

He leans back in his chair. " _Really? No questions about what's the latest on V.I.L.E., no asking how decrypting the hard drive is going? Shadow-_ san _did get back okay, right?_ "

"Got in this afternoon. Tired, but he filled us in on Antwerp."

Player's expression turns cautious. " _And?_ "

Carmen rolls her eyes with a rueful huff. "And it sounds like you two have everything under control," she admits, "like you've been telling me. For the last week. So here I am, ready to talk through homework instead of bug you about V.I.L.E."

The hacker grins. " _I did say._ "

She ticks her fingers off like a list. "You did, you told me so, you were right, and I should've let it go." Then Carmen sobers. "Sorry, Player. I've been a bit of a bear, haven't I?"

He shrugs. " _Eh, things never got too grizzly._ "

"Now you're just panda-ing to me."

" _No, no. Polar opposite._ "

"Probably was making a spectacle of myself."

" _I'm just glad you're back in a sun-ny mood, Red._ "

"But if you have homework, we should really get black on track."

" _Not off in a brown study?_ " She holds up her hands, admitting defeat, and he laughs. " _Great! 'Cause I gotta say, this assignment from that French group my mom put me in is kicking my butt._ "

"Lay it on me, Player. Tu sais que j'aime rattraper le fonctionnement de l'école non criminelle."

-/-

Shadow- _san_ is already busy at the kitchen workbench when Carmen wakes late the next morning. She makes her usual slow pilgrimage to the bathroom but detours on the way back to sit opposite where he slices chicken breasts into thin strips for… something. There is steam coming from several pots on the stove and it all smells rather wonderful.

He pulls another skillet out as the thief tidies away her crutches, adding it to an open burner and cracking an egg on its rim. "Toast?" he asks.

"Please."

He takes a slice from the loaf in the pull-out freezer and sets it in the toaster. Her nose picks up a particularly important scent and she looks at him hopefully. "Coffee?"

Her relationship with caffeine has been a little off since Stockholm, drinking more than one cup per morning another trigger for headaches—or for sleep broken by the nightmare-dreams if she has any in the afternoon. Yet that too was improving and though Carmen would drink instant, she did appreciate Shadow- _san_ 's attachment to brewing from actual beans.

The ninja eyes her levelly but pours a half-cup, diluting it heavily with milk. Carmen doesn't care, wrapping her hands around the mug and just breathing in the familiar aroma. Shadow- _san_ gives a short puffy grunt that might be a laugh.

She cracks open one lid. "Zack. Soup," the thief warns. He lifts one shoulder in a shrug and goes to check on her egg, but Carmen is pretty sure she catches that telltale gleam before he turns.

Just for that she might try to cajole another half-cup out of him.

A plate with her egg and toast appears in front of her, ketchup bottle placed alongside. Carmen eats as Shadow- _san_ washes his knife and cutting board, chicken added to a larger skillet to cook. Once she is done, he dries the board and sets it in front of her, along with the knife and a towel laden with still-damp vegetables. Cucumbers, celery, carrots, and a long white radish.

"Thin, medium, quarter-sticks, and thin," the ninja says, pointing at each in turn before going back to the carrots. "Leave two for cutting thin. I will show Zack how to make soup tomorrow."

Then he leaves her to it.

They work in quiet company, Carmen chopping and Shadow- _san_ tending the stove. Upstairs they can hear the twins shift furniture around and occasionally argue, never with any real heat. The thief takes a break every so often to shake out fingers that still go sore and tingly at times.

He is making pickles, or so Carmen realizes when the ninja has her transfer cut vegetables to an array of glass jars that he then tops up with broth from one of the pots. And teriyaki chicken, as well as some sort of noodle dish she doesn't quite recognize. " _Sunomono_ ," Shadow- _san_ clarifies as he mixes glass-like vermicelli and half the sliced cucumbers in a large bowl with rice vinegar before placing it in the fridge next to the now-sealed jars. Zack and Ivy come down shortly after noon, by which time the chicken is ready, while Shadow- _san_ retrieves the noodle salad and part of the leftover carrot sticks are diverted for lunch.

Afterwards he does the post-meal clean-up as well, wiping down tables and counters before going right back to the stove. The ninja pulls out a package of ground beef, a handful of quickly-scrubbed baby potatoes, and several peppers, setting the meat to frying and her to more chopping. Carmen frowns at his back as she dices. "You know, you did just get back yesterday after close to a week in the field," she notes. "You're allowed to take a day off."

Shadow- _san_ shrugs again, attention on his skillet. "I do not mind. Zack and Ivy have renovations in hand, and I believe there was some enthusiasm for a change in menu."

She wouldn't object to that either. "Still, it doesn't seem quite fair, making you handle missions alone and then spend all your time between cooking," argues the thief. "Maybe you should take Zack or Ivy with you as back-up."

"I would prefer they stay here," he says, in a way that makes 'prefer' sound more like a straight-up 'no'. He pours a bowl of some kind of sauce over the meat and stirs, then turns it down to a simmer. "Although they are making progress, they still have much to learn. And I work much better on my own."

Without thinking Carmen replies, "You work well enough with me." Then her eyes go wide, thankful Shadow- _san_ can't see. "A-although Rio had its bumps, I guess," she quickly backpedals, trying to make it all sound like just another joke.

From behind she can still see his ears turn pink. The thief can't tell if that means she's succeeded or not.

"That was—slightly different, Carmen," hedges Shadow- _san_ , sounding almost embarrassed. "You… you are an independent agent, one who excelled in her training and is fully capable of–of managing any number of situations on her own. I acted in haste in Rio, but not due to– It was not–"

Something in her stomach flutters warm and giddy. "Oh," says Carmen, feeling almost shy, a helpless smile rising with her blush. Crush or no crush, _excelled_ and _capable_ were a far cry from _immature_ or _impetuous_. She catches him glancing over his shoulder and hurriedly looks away—but that damn silly grin won't leave her face.

Shadow- _san_ coughs. "In any case, Player's support is more than adequate for the time being."

"Yeah, he's—pretty awesome," Carmen murmurs, pretending to be absorbed in smoothing out a nick in the cutting board.

There's a brief, not-unpleasant hush between them. One the ninja breaks by adding gruffly, "Your foot. You should put it up. You've had it down all morning; it will start swelling otherwise."

Nonplussed, her gaze drops to her legs. "My–? Oh. Right." Carmen pulls at the stool next to her and Shadow- _san_ leaves the stove to help her rearrange. Once she has her foot comfortably situated, he stands beside the second stool looking oddly uncertain. "The ankle," he finally asks. "You are not—overworking it?"

Shadow- _san_ 's hand hovers over the joint like he's waiting for her nod; the heat in Carmen's cheeks resurges as she remembers deft hands testing her ribs in Milan.

"No?" she half-squeaks—then tries again. "I mean, no, I'm not overworking, Shadow- _san_ , it's really much stronger now. Can't put all my weight on it yet, but, you know, getting there. Slowly." The thief can hear herself babbling and bites her lip to make it stop. Luckily Shadow- _san_ doesn't seem to notice. His hand moves to the table to sweep a few stray pepper seeds into a pile. Carmen fights a stab of disappointment.

He pauses, fingers stilling on the tabletop. "I was worried, being away when you felt so poorly," the ninja softly admits. "Player kept me informed but it was—not the same. I was glad to find you doing so much better on my return."

Her stomach flip-flops again, gentler but somehow more painful. "You could always call to ask me yourself," Carmen suggests. "See for yourself, even."

He looks at her, startled. "See– oh. Yes. Video-calling."

"Player showed you how to use it, huh?"

Shadow- _san_ blinks before his mouth twists in a half-smile. "Something like that."

Carmen's heart beats like bird-wings. The twins' clatter upstairs falls away. There's only her and Shadow- _san_ in this little bubble of quiet, his dark eyes on her, close enough to touch if she just reached out–

–but she can't reach, mustn't touch, because he liked graceful women in tea shops and she wasn't– _Carmen_ wasn't–

"I-I just wish I could see more than the inside of this warehouse for a bit," says the thief around the stone in her throat, plucking at anything to fill the silence.

Shadow- _san_ straightens with a start, like he hadn't realized he'd lost his perfect posture. "Yes, of– That is, is there a reason you cannot?" Abruptly he swings back around the table, snagging a paper towel and cleaning up his seed-pile properly before going after stragglers scattered by her slicing.

"Oh, well," and the laugh that escapes Carmen is more nerves than anything else, "Ivy worries that with sidewalks in such rough shape here, I'll catch a crutch or trip or something, and the whole area's too industrial to have benches so there's really no place to sit–"

The ninja's head tilts, expression turning quizzical as his tidying slows. "The elevator goes to the garage. Zack has his car. Why not go for a drive?"

Carmen—stops. She raises a finger, as if about to make a point, then just stares at Shadow- _san_.

He watches her, looking a little wary.

Slowly a shining grin breaks over her face. "Shadow- _san_ , that's—that's brilliant," she breathes. His ears flush again. "You're brilliant. Where's Zack?" She starts fumbling with the chairs, trying to swing her ankle down and reach for her crutches at the same time, a dizzy beat of _outside, outside, outside,_ in her head–

–only for Shadow- _san_ to have to steady her before she tumbles off the stool. "Slow _down_ , Carmen," he insists, lips twitching at her eagerness.

The thief beams at him. "You slow down," she retorts, clever repartee overtaken by the joy of finally getting to _go_ somewhere. "I've got a ride to call."

"And you are still on crutches. Sit," says Shadow- _san_ firmly. "I will find Zack."

"A _drive_ , Shadow- _san_ ," she can't help repeating and laughs again, this time with delight. The ninja raises an quelling eyebrow, yet the way his mouth won't stay straight belies any attempt at sternness. He goes to fetch Zack.

Within minutes the redhead skids to a halt in front of her, shirt flecked with beige. "Drive?" he asks, eyes lit up like stars.

"Drive," confirms Carmen.

"Where to?"

"Anywhere but here."

"I know a place," he promises, "you'll love it."

"Zack, at this point? I will love anything that isn't these four walls, no matter how nicely you and Ivy are painting them."

His grin is as bright and reckless as hers. "Car needs gas. We'll need snacks. Fill up on the way?"

"You got it."

"Hold up, hold up, hold up," says Ivy, bustling into the kitchen with Shadow _-san_ trailing more serenely in her wake. "Where are you taking her? And when are you going to be back?"

"Just the most awesome place in San Diego County," is his excited reply, "and not even two hours from here!"

Ivy and Shadow- _san_ look at each other. The teen turns back to her brother with an uneasy frown. "Zack, don't you think that might be pushing it a bit for a first go?"

"It's only sitting," Carmen coaxes, fully onboard with her driver's enthusiasm and curious now as to what would draw him so far out of town. "I've been doing that for days."

"I too think it wise to start slower," affirms Shadow- _san_. His attention cuts to Carmen. "And you may find that your ribs—or your head—feel quite differently about sitting in a moving vehicle. A half-hour drive would be far more reasonable."

"Half an hour?" she protests. "Shadow- _san_ , we'd barely get out of the city." Zack, however, is already glancing uncertainly from his sister to his _sensei_ and back, wavering under their combined reservations.

"It would be more reasonable," the ninja reiterates.

Carmen looks up at him and counters, "One hour. But we'll take a break before we drive home." She softens it with a hopeful smile, not wanting to put Zack in an difficult position but very, _very_ much wanting more than a measly thirty-minute round trip.

Shadow- _san_ growls under his breath but doesn't say no; Ivy's gaze flicks between them. Carmen presses her advantage. "If I get tired, we can always turn back sooner," she adds persuasively.

He shoots her a pointed look. "And you _will_ tell Zack if you are getting tired?"

"Absolutely."

The ninja grunts, but it's close enough to assent that Carmen will take it. "Ivy?" she nudges.

Her friend reluctantly gives in. "I guess, if Shadow- _san_ 's okay with it…"

Carmen and Zack grin at each other, gleeful conspirators again. Then the thief turns to the rest of her crew. "You could come with us," she offers. "Both of you."

"Nah. If you're going out, there's some work I've been meaning to do on Lydia that'll be easier with a little extra room in the garage," answers Ivy.

"And I have matters to attend to on the stove," says Shadow- _san_. His gaze slides sidelong to Carmen. "Supper, actually. Japanese curry rice." The ninja's face is entirely bland. "I am sure Zack would not want to be late."

"Supper," gasps Zack, then asks worriedly, "but we can still get snacks too, right Carm?" and the other man's lip twitches. Carmen bites back a little growl of her own.

_Sneaky ninja._

"Yes, Zack," she assures, dry note sneaking in as the thief stares darkly at Shadow _-san._ "Even though I'm sure we'll be back in plenty of time. After all, we are only going for an hour."

Not like she had been planning to push that limit—much—but it was the principle of the thing, damn it. _And_ how underhanded using Zack's stomach against her was.

"With a break," Shadow- _san_ helpfully reminds. His lip-twitch deepens.

 _Sneaky,_ shameless _ninja._

Carmen smiles thinly, just daring that laughing gleam to appear. "With a break," she repeats.

He hold the crutches out for her. The thief pushes herself to her feet. Ivy chivvies her brother into gathering up jackets and gloves and anything else they might possibly need while Shadow- _san_ escorts Carmen to the elevator.

"You think you're so clever," she grumbles as the twins dash to and fro in a red-haired flurry of activity.

Unexpectedly the ninja grins, looking surprisingly boyish. "I have no idea what you mean," he says.

Rolling her eyes, Carmen lets him get away with it—for now—as they wait by the doors for Zack to join her.

-/-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wanted to use _Phascolarctos cinereus_ in the bear puns, but they didn't... koala-fy. *bah-dum-tish* ;D This also seems like a good time to point out that V.I.L.E. Island was isolated only in terms of culture, not technology. The faculty communicated with operatives by video on a regular basis well before Shadow- _san_ left. Antwerp's prominence in the rough diamond trade was unexpected but too good to pass up, so a touch of plot got added to the fluff after all. We also got chilling on a couch, arms-length apart, because They're Just Teammates. XD Plus one (1) moment of handholding and ~tension~ over an ankle. Yeah, I did not intend to write this like a Regency romance, it just happened that way. But I have been _cackling_ over this chapter and the ones to come.
> 
> In other news, that chapter count is officially unreliable. Carmen's recovery was going to be one chapter, now looking more like three. Not sure how that's going to affect Botswana yet. On the plus side... I've worked out a canon timeline for the show [here](https://nixariel.tumblr.com/post/643441847922016256/the-nice-and-accurate-canon-timeline-of-carmen)? Other than using Zack's age for he and Ivy as twins, it is canon for this fic until end of S2. I also have [reference images](https://nixariel.tumblr.com/tagged/reference-images) for the San Diego HQ; spoilers, their kitchen is pretty sad. I did not like that. Therefore, in this fic, Team Red gets a sink, a stove, a fridge, and maybe even a microwave if we really want to go wild.


End file.
